Changes (DISCONTINUED)
by SepticMind
Summary: SEQUEL TO CLANDESTINE: With the amulet back in the hands of Jinx, and Raven covertly going against her team, Robin's doing his best to find out who stole the the powerful artifact days after it had been retrieved from the Hive.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:**** You guys should know the deal by now. I **_**don't**_** own Teen Titans. DC do, sadly (or not sadly; after all, we need to get the comics from somewhere.)**

**And so begins the sequel to 'Clandestine'. As always, feel free to drop a review telling me what you thought, and say a big thanks to ****Concolor44**** - after all, he has gone through this and tried to get rid of all those nasty typos for you guys! **

**On another note, some of my older readers might recognise the title 'Changes' from a previous idea I had a stab at, then discontinued and took down. No, the two aren't related. I just thought the name suited the plot for this thing. **

* * *

"Try again. You need to focus more."

"Focus more my _ass_! I can't do it!" The young woman sat down on the forest floor, ignoring the twigs and roots that dug into her as she crossed her arms, watching her girlfriend with an expression that could best be described as a cross between a glare and a pout. "This is stupid."

"Stupid is giving the enemy a tool with which they could defeat your team mates, then _teaching _this particular enemy _how _to use it." Raven smiled. "It's simply a matter of control. You need to learn how to direct the energy, and how to control how much is released."

"But my abilities aren't about control. It just … happens! BAM! An' things blow up or malfunction."

"Your hexes don't work like that, and you know it. They're specific, concentrated waves of energy that you direct."

"S'not much different from walking though. It's … I dunno, instinct or somethin'," Jinx muttered. "All I have to do is focus on whatever I want to hit."

"And that's all you have to do here. Instead of focusing on just the _direction_, you need to focus on the energy itself, too. Make yourself aware of what you're doing. Think of it like breathing. You do it automatically, but if you concentrate, you can slow it down or speed it up. The concept is exactly the same." She offered the meta human her hand. "It is an amulet of power; it is not supposed to be easy to wield."

"Well can't we like, find a different target or somethin'?" Jinx asked as she let Raven pull her to her feet. "You tell me all this shit about how dangerous it is if I don't learn how to use it, then expect me to practice _against _you?"

"No. Even with the amulet your hex energy isn't powerful enough to do me any permanent damage. If you're unhappy about it, think of it as an incentive to learn faster."

"_Incentive_?" She frowned. "What kind of incentive is that?"

"One very similar to what my teachers gave me."

"Well it's a great incentive to make me not want to learn altogether, and simply not use the damned thing."

"If you'd prefer." Raven shrugged. "But then, what would have been the point of stealing it for you? I know you can do it, Jinx."

"Why so eager for me to be able to use the stupid thing?" Jinx frowned, tugging on the pinkish stone hung round her neck.

"Because I know what you're like; if you don't learn how to properly use it, and it's just sat in your room, you're going to eventually pick it up, and I don't want you to make a serious mistake."

"You know what I'm like, huh?" The meta human grinned as she took a step forward, putting her only inches away from the empath.

Raven quickly stepped back out of reach, shaking her head. "You're impulsive." She pointed at the amulet. "You know the rules."

"No going too close to you while wearing the amulet." Jinx recited, rolling her eyes as she sighed. "Why are you so worried about touchin' it?"

"I have enough problems controlling my powers as they are. I do not need them to be any stronger, even for a second."

The woman frowned for a moment, before shrugging and glancing up at what sky she could see between the tree-tops, noticing the suspicious looking grey clouds that had moved in. "Once more, before it starts pissing it down. Then I'm callin' it quits for the day."

Raven nodded, taking a few more steps back from the pink haired villain. "Remember – focus on the energy itself. Take your time; there's no rush. When you think you've got it, try releasing just a small amount of that energy. We'll worry about aim later."

Jinx closed her eyes and concentrated on the surge of energy that constantly seemed to run through and around her. She tried to build up an attack, slowly feeding the thought with the negative energy. She opened her eyes when she figured she'd made it strong enough for the energy to appear physically, her brow pulling together as she tried to keep that ball of energy separate from the rest flowing through her. She motioned towards Raven with her right hand, the static arcs of pink harmlessly hitting one of the empath's shields.

"Better." Raven smiled. "It was much easier to keep my shield up this time."

"But it's so _hard_. How am I meant to use it to fight if it takes me so long to let off even one attack?"

"Practice. Once you get used to it, it'll be a lot easier for you."

Jinx pulled the amulet over her head, put it in the small pouch Raven had given her and pocketed it. "We heading back to the apartment?"

"I've got to get back to the tower." Raven shook her head. "They'll notice if I suddenly start spending all my time away from the team."

"You know we still need to talk over everythin'." Jinx warned.

"I know, and we will. I promise."

"You'd better." The meta human grumbled. "Mind giving me a lift back to Hive base?"

"Gizmo will kill you."

She shrugged. "You'll be there for like, two seconds. It's not gonna kill him."

"I think he's more bothered about the fact that I am able to teleport in and out of the supposedly secret base at will." She offered Jinx her hand.

"It bothers me too," the woman muttered, though she took hold of the empath's hand, grimacing as she let the cold, sticky energy envelope her.

Jinx was blinded for a moment, trying to fight off the sick feeling in her stomach as her brain struggled to understand which direction she was falling – if she was falling at all; her lungs feeling almost compressed, and her skin breaking out in goose-bumps. She did her best to concentrate on the feeling of Raven's warm hand in hers. She _hated _travelling like this, even if it was damn convenient at times. It really fucked her over, and the meta human couldn't understand why the titans were able to figure out their bearings and jump straight into action after teleporting with Raven.

The black started to recede, and Jinx moved to quickly rub her arms as her common room came into view. The empath stood in front of her, a slight smile on her face. "You really don't like that, do you?"

"Nope. That is one thing I doubt I'm _ever _going to be able to get used to. No offence Rae, but it is both fucked up _and _creepy. How can your team mates travel like that as often as they do?"

"They're used to it." She shrugged. "Several years used to it."

"Point." She moved forward and ducked her head slightly as she kissed the shorter woman, her face becoming as serious as Jinx was capable of as she pulled back. "I'll probably text you in a day or two to sort out a time for us to sit down and talk. You're _not _avoiding it."

The empath nodded. "I'm not trying to avoid it. Much. Now, I'm going before Gizmo realises I'm here. See you later."

"Bye." Jinx stepped back and watched as Raven sank through the floor into an inky puddle, before the dark energy disappeared altogether.

* * *

"It hadn't even been back a month." Robin frowned. "Our original thief is still locked up … I just can't make sense of it. I mean, how many people know such an amulet exists?"

"You mean apart from anyone who's visited that museum?" Raven asked, looking up from her food to watch her leader. "More than you might think. Anyone with an interest in history, mythology or even jewellery is bound to come across a book or website than mentions such an item. As would have anyone involved with sorcery, witchcraft, healing, or any other form of magic. Gemstones are often used as focuses for magic." She tapped her chakra stone with her index finger. "Take mine, for example."

"Which actually leads me to the second thing I can't understand. Surely, if someone _stole _the amulet, they were planning to use it to aid their criminal activities. Why has no one noticed?"

"Maybe they're not a super villain." Cyborg offered. "No one said it only aids someone with powers. I'm pretty sure it'd aid someone's memory or intellect. Raven?"

She nodded. "Cyborg's right. The effects wouldn't be as obvious, since from my understanding the amulet amplifies energy expelled from an individual, but it would work in theory."

"Someone with powers must have stolen it." Robin shook his head. "The security had been tightened! They left nothing! No finger prints, no DNA, nothing!"

"The phantom thief?" Beast Boy grinned, as he leaned over the table for the salt. "Just chill dude, I'm sure we'll catch them eventually. We always do. We have most of the Justice League members they can spare looking into it too; no thief is _that _good."

"I know." Robin sighed, before looking at Raven. "It's just, if what you've found out about the amulet is true…"

"It _shouldn't _have been displayed in a museum in the first place." Raven shrugged, looking away from Robin and back to the plate in front of her. "Out of every planet and dimension I'm aware of, Earth is the worst for its mistreatment of artefacts of power. Now, If you'll excuse me, I'm going to meditate before my patrol shift."

Robin watched the empath leave the common room. "I'm struggling to figure out how the Hive broke out of jail too." He told his team mates. "I know Jinx has used her abilities to break locks and stuff in order to escape before, but since Jump Penitentiary invested in those collars that dampen the individual's energy field … I can't help thinking it's all connected."

"Maybe it malfunctioned? Jinx's almost as nasty to electronics as Raven is." Cyborg offered. "Those collars aren't brilliant. I mean, it has happened once or twice before. I know these collars can stop her from using her hex bolts, but I'm not sure they completely stop all her abilities."

"All her abilities?" Robin frowned.

"Back when I was undercover in Hive Academy … it was kinda like when Raven loses control for a moment … metal would rust quickly, or rubber would dry out and go all brittle. Sometimes lights would smash, or a fuse would blow. It was accidental – Jinx knew _she _was doin' those things. She told me she couldn't control it, it was just how her powers worked. It wasn't even triggered by something like emotional stress. It's like a natural energy field or somethin' is constantly around her."

"You know, Raven kinda perked up a lot quicker than I thought she would," Beast Boy mused. "She's acting like the whole thing never happened."

"If Raven feels that is the best way for her to deal with what happened, then I am not going to object." Starfire spoke up. "But I do not like that she is once again keeping everything to herself; I do not think it is healthy for anyone to do that."

"She still hasn't spoken to you about any of it?" Robin frowned.

'The girl talk' had been one of the things that had brought the two female team members closer together during the earlier years of the team, and while Robin had never managed to completely figure out what that 'talk' exactly consisted off, he knew the two girls would often talk after something had upset one of them.

"She avoids the topic most skilfully, and I do not want to push the matter, especially now that she seems to be doing so well. I know that Raven is extremely good at hiding her emotions from us, so for all we know, she could be most hurt and upset, but I do not want to risk bringing it up and upsetting her further."

"That girl plays her cards too damn close to her chest." Cyborg muttered. "Even after all these years. You _think _she would have opened up more, especially after the whole Trigon thing. It's not like she doesn't know we're always gonna be there if she needs us. I'll see if I can get her to open up; I mean she _did _voluntarily talk to me during the whole undercover thing."

"I'm going to keep in touch with Batman." Robin spoke up, changing the topic back to the missing amulet. "He's been working closely with the local police involved with the case. Hopefully we can figure this out sooner rather than later. Zatanna's told him pretty much what Raven told us, and Batman isn't fond of magic – it's impossible to measure accurately and no one can ever seem to give solid facts to work with. He's eager to have the amulet back under security."

"Don't we know that feelin'." Cyborg grinned. "If we had a penny for every time Rae used 'possibly', or some other version of that damned word, we'd have enough money to support ourselves AND pay the government back for any damage done during fights."

Robin chuckled as he got to his feet. "I'm going back to the drawing board. We've _got _to be missing something obvious. You know where to find me if you need me."

"Right, then I'll be-" Beast Boy tried to stand, but Cyborg grabbed the changeling's shoulder, pushing him back into his seat.

"-Going nowhere. You're on washing up duty tonight."

"Awh man! But I can't touch any of that! It's had _meat _on it!" He gestured to the plates left on the table.

"Never stopped you in the past Green Bean."

"Do not dismay, Beast Boy. I shall help by drying the washed pots and cutlery. Then it shall not take you so long." The Tamaranian offered.

"Thanks Star. I guess." Beast Boy smiled, before turning to glare at Cyborg. "What I want to know is why a dishwasher hasn't been installed yet. I mean, seriously."

"Is it essential?" Cyborg grinned. "No."

"And that waffle toaster thing you built is?"

"Yup. Besides, having a set list of chores is the only way we can get you to do anything."

"_Chores_? Dude, Starfire enjoys every 'chore' you give her, Raven doesn't even have to move off the couch to do them, Robin's weirdly neat anyway, and you have gadgets to help you with half of them. The only one getting chores here is _me_!"

"You do the dishes once a week. Stop complaining, or I'll find something else to bring to Robin's attention."

"This is so unfair," the changeling muttered, but started piling the plates up, moving the stack into the kitchen with the other pots that had collected by the sink over the course of the day.


	2. Chapter 2

**Reviews: **

**nada129: **A great first chapter and I look forword to the next one so please update  
soon and keep up the good work

_Hopefully this second chapter is just as good_

**Spikesagitta: **Well it won't be long before they figure out what Raven did..will they kick her out or... Anything? Hmm. I hate waiting and seeing what happen next :p

_Yeah, I mean sure, she broke the law, but it is Raven. She's been a valuable member of the titans since the start! We'll see what happens._

**I'm a Lover not a Hater: **LOL

_Not too sure how to reply to that one xD_

**Korraganitar the NightShadow: **Glad to see you continuing this story! Maybe my hope will be answered and you'll finally write a story where Raven goes into the thief biz without feeling bad about it! either way, looking foward to more!  
Korrag

_Me too. I was sad to see Clandestine end. Ahah maybe, or maybe not. She might get there eventually. If this story doesn't head that way, I'll see about writing one up for you._

**Angelic Toaster: **I'm so glad you're writing this. I can't wait to see more!

_I'm glad I am too!_

**Silently Watching**: Well maggots, welcome to Raven's Bootcamp of HELL! Even if it isn't exactly like that, we know Jinx is thinking it. How are the other Titans going to react when they realize Jinx suddenly has greater control over her powers? And why hasn't Boy Wonder looked over the security footage from the museum and the jail? One of them would likely have SOME indication of who did the crime; it's not like Raven has a whole lot of experience with this.  
Silently Watching out.

_Ahah yeah, I can imagine Jinx thinking that. When they find out? Who knows. Could be many a reasons for that. We all know the Justice League likes to take control, and if they're on it, they're not really going to ask for help from the minors, are they? But yes, there probably will be. _

**XxRin-sanxX: **Hi! I just finished read the book beofre this one and I loved it! I didn't want to review on that one because it was already completed, but it made me cry reading that last chapter when Jinx gave up and when they were all conversing about Raven. Anywho, back to this chapter, it is awesome! Hope you are able to update fast- as in, faster than Flash can run fast! :)  
Rin

_Hello there :) Ahh, no worries. I'm still checking the reviews for the one I finished this time last year. I still reply to them! Good! Well, not good, cause you know making people cry isn't meant to be a good thing, but well, I'm kinda glad… the fact that I managed to portray some emotional weight with my writing is well, something I'm happy about since it's kinda hard to do. Glad you liked the chapter, and well, sorry the update time wasn't faster than flash. Hopefully the length makes up for it._

**Concolor44: **Focus on the direction AND the force level. So it's a vector, not just a wild pitch. And later on she'll be able to manage the KIND of effect she wants as well. Quantitative and qualitative control over her hex energy. Then ... look out.  
Hooo, boy! Yeah, Raven-plus-amulet large scale disaster. Perhaps not a civilization-ending event, but bad enough. And she's right about Jinx and her inability to leave things alone.  
Hah! Jinx doesn't like the Meat Locker Express. But then, who does? Just because the Titans are used to it and can stand it, that doesn't mean they like it either.

- - - - - - - - - -  
Oh, man, is Raven ever treading a fine line! That performance could be nominated for an Oscar. And leading them along with vague "facts" and three-quarter-truths like that certainly does muddy the water, but Robin is going to start connecting the dots very soon. And all those casual references to the similarities between Raven's powers and Jinx's powers? That may click with Cyborg before it does with Robin. Then there's Raven's APPARENT lack of any ill effect from her undercover mission, which they all knew twisted her emotions as they'd never been twisted before. That's suspicious all by itself, particularly in light of how hard it hit Jinx.  
All I'm sayin' is that it probably won't take very long before the cyclone hits Raven's house of cards, and it's gonna be messy.  
Heehee! Can't wait! In your capable hands, it will be epic.

_Yeah, she's gonna be well, pretty dangerous after that. A controlled hit is always a lot better than a wild one. Of course, unless you strike lucky. Yeah, Rae and the amulet really wouldn't equal anything good. Heh, you used that term in one of your fanfics. The one with the weird imp thing possessing that man. I liked that oneshot. Really liked it. I also LOVED that term! xD _

_That girl is soo lying through her teeth right now, and yeah, she really is treading some fine lines. Gonna be one hell of a storm! Ahah! I'm glad you think it will :)_

**Eagle wolf05: **I want to give you some great reason why it took me so long to review but im just lazy great start can't wait for more

_Pfft no worries, I don't need excuses. Least you reviewed! And good!_

**YuriPrince: **I can't wait for update pls update asap this is a great story!

_Yeah, sorry that update was a little slow coming. Hoping the chapter length will make up for that._

**Taeniaea: **good chapter

_Glad you think so :)_

* * *

Robin looked at the empath, drawing his gaze away from the jewellery shop the H.I.V.E had targeted. "Raven, you take care of Mammoth with Star. Beast Boy, Cyborg, focus on Jinx. I'll deal with Gizmo."

Raven opened her mouth to argue, since she was undeniably the best suited to fighting the pink haired meta human, but decided against it at the last minute, nodding instead. While she knew she'd have no problem fighting off Jinx, she knew her team mates were expecting her to avoid the woman, and she didn't trust the H.I.V.E leader not to treat it like a play fight – something Robin would probably pick up on _very _quickly.

Robin looked at the rest of the team, happy when they all nodded, indicating they were fine with the set up. He motioned them forward, pushing the shop door open, and instantly gaining the attention of Mammoth, Gizmo and Jinx.

"Haven't you learnt your lesson yet?" Robin asked them as his team filed in behind him.

Jinx glanced at Raven, before looking back at Robin. "An' what lesson would that be? That even the good guys fight dirty?" She grinned at the boy wonder, before nodding at Gizmo. "Well two can play at that game."

Gizmo pulled out a small device, pressing down on what Raven assumed was some sort of trigger. She threw a shield up around her team mates – more of a precautionary move than anything else – seconds before two small bombs exploded nearby, one tearing a hole into the wall near the main entrance. She rolled her eyes as she let the shield drop. The bombs hadn't been planted close enough to do the team any serious damage, and Raven decided she didn't want to know what the villainess was playing at.

"That's it?" Beast Boy asked as he scrunched up his face.

"Not quite." The meta human threw her hand towards the damaged wall, releasing a wave of pink energy that Raven quickly deflected with one of her shields.

"Are you _trying _to bring the building down on us?" She asked sharply.

"It's an idea." Jinx shrugged. "But if you're gonna keep stoppin' me…"

Robin frowned at the meta human, before motioning his team forward with the traditional call of "Titans, GO!"

The members of the H.I.V.E didn't move, letting the Teen Titans come to them. Raven flew over to Mammoth, Starfire beside her, although kept one eye on Jinx, partly to make sure she didn't do anything stupid, but also in case she got into any real danger. She'd told herself she wasn't going to let their relationship change anything when it came to fights like these, and in theory it had seemed very plausible – after all she'd spent years kicking H.I.V.E butt – however like most things, in practice the _theory _didn't work, and she realised Jinx might prove more of a distraction than she had bargained for.

The Tamaranian threw several bolts of green energy at Mammoth, forcing him back a few steps. Raven conjured up a rope of dark energy behind the giant's feet, tripping him up. Rushing through the air towards him, Starfire pulled back her fist and started to bring it down with a warrior's cry as she flew down, aiming for the villain's head, hoping to knock him out as quickly as possible. For while Mammoth wasn't the H.I.V.E's smartest asset, he was definitely a formidable opponent, thanks to his strength.

Mammoth grabbed Starfire's fist and flung the alien aside, before standing, ripping up some of the flooring and throwing it at the empath. She blocked the tiles with a shield, before pushing her arms out, the wall of dark energy sweeping into Mammoth.

She started to move towards the villain when something heavy and very green barrelled into her, knocking her to the floor. Beast Boy quickly detangled himself from the woman with a rushed apology, before offering her a hand.

"Sorry Rae."

"It's _Raven_." The empath huffed as she pulled her hood back up. "It's okay. I should have been paying more attention to my surroundings." She looked for Starfire, checking she didn't need any assistance against Mammoth, before motioning towards Jinx as she danced around Cyborg's punch. "Need help?"

"We got it." Beast Boy smiled. "Besides it might be for the best if you don't help since … well… you know." The changeling rubbed the back of his head.

"I'm not going to let something like that affect how I work with the team."

"You might not. She will." Beast Boy shrugged, glancing towards Mammoth and Starfire in time to see the alien hit a wall, creating a dent and a cloud of dust. "Besides, I think Star could use some help."

Raven looked round, blocking the punch Mammoth threw at Starfire with a shield, repeating as the criminal swung again. Beast Boy turned and ran back at Jinx, shifting into a boa constrictor and wrapping himself around the pink haired villainess. Jinx cried out as she lost her balance and crashed to the floor. Beast Boy quickly unwound himself from around the meta human, almost taking a hex bolt to the face as Jinx leapt to her feet and chased after the Titan, fuming.

Cyborg aimed for the criminal with his sonic cannon, muttering under his breath as she kept moving out of range in her pursuit of the changeling. He fired, the blue beam missing Jinx and almost taking out his leader. He cursed and aimed for her again, taking extra care not to hit Beast Boy as the changeling shifted into a green sparrow and flew above Jinx in an attempt to escape from her line of sight. She threw another hex at the titan, missing and hitting the ceiling. She scowled, her eyes flashing pink before part of the ceiling crumbled in, raining down on the changeling. The small bird hit the floor, quickly morphing into Beast Boy as he let out a cry of pain, holding his arm against his chest. Cyborg glanced at his best friend before firing at Jinx again. The beam from his sonic cannon smashed into Jinx's back, and she began to fall forward as the force of the blast knocked her off her feet.

She rolled forward into a crouch and looked over her shoulder at Cyborg, resisting the urge to rub her back, knowing it was going to leave one heck of a bruise. The robotic Titan aimed for Jinx again, and she quickly threw a hex at him, forcing the hero to move, losing his aim.

"Yo, Rae! I think BB could use some help!" Cyborg called out, before trying to hit Jinx again.

The empath took her attention off Mammoth to look for Beast Boy, before quickly flying over, putting a shield around them both as she helped him sit up, before inspecting his arm.

"What happened?"

"Jinx happened." He winced. "She brought down some of the ceiling. Think she clipped my wing."

"You know I can't heal breaks. Not fully." Raven muttered.

"I know. Think you can get me somewhere out the way until you guys kick their collective butts? With a broken arm, most of my animal forms are pretty useless."

Raven nodded, before calling upon her soul self and wrapping them both up in dark energy. She didn't teleport far, reappearing behind one of the counters in the room.

"Stay here, and don't do anything stupid."

"Thanks Rae." Beast Boy grinned.

"My name is _**Raven**_." The empath stood up and moved around the counter, her eyes moving to where Starfire and Mammoth were fighting.

She watched as the Tamaranian landed several solid punches. The last caught Mammoth's jaw, and he stumbled back into the wall, the giant almost falling straight through it. A light sheet of dust fell from the ceiling, and Raven glanced back at the hole in the wall the bombs had made, before looking for the damage Jinx had apparently done to the ceiling.

"The building's structure…" She muttered to herself, before speaking up. "If everyone keeps attacking the building, we're going to bring it down."

Everyone paused, glancing at the empath, Starfire looking somewhat sheepish as she glanced at Mammoth, who was still stuck in the wall.

"Then why don't ya' let us go, an' we can avoid that?" Jinx spoke up, not fancying her chances of being in the building too long with her luck.

"No chance." Robin replied, throwing an explosive disk in her direction.

Her eyes flashed pink and the device malfunctioned, exploding before it reached her. Mammoth dislodged himself from the wall as the fight picked up again, part of the wall around him giving way. The villain barrelled into Starfire, continuing forward and only just missing Raven.

The empath threw several bolts of dark energy at the H.I.V.E member, forcing him away from her, quickly stepping back as Gizmo skidded across the floor towards her on his back. She grabbed the small villain with her soul self and ripped the pack holding all his gadgets off the back of his suit, crumpling the thing up as though it were nothing more than a sheet of paper before throwing it aside.

"My tech!" Gizmo cried out, before Raven dropped him back onto the floor. "Do you have any idea how much it cost me to-"

"Oops." Raven interrupted him in her monotone voice, before flicking her hand towards him. The small villain shot back across the tiles with a startled yell as a flash of black hit him.

Raven watched as Robin moved to help Cyborg against Jinx, the meta human swiftly dodging his high kick before dancing back out of the way of Cyborg's sonic cannon. She swore as she was pushed to the ground again, this time by the alien, Mammoth having thrown her toward Raven. The empath's theory _definitely _wasn't working in practice.

"Forgive me, friend."

"Ugh. Not your fault." Raven muttered, getting to her feet. "Need help?"

"Please. Your assistance would be most welcome."

Raven smiled slightly as she levitated, throwing a counter towards Mammoth with her dark energy. "A simple 'yes' would have sufficed."

Starfire flew towards the giant, her right hand glowing with a star bolt. She aimed and fired, Mammoth bringing up his arm to protect his face. He took the force of several star bolts before the counter Raven was controlling flew into his back, taking the criminal by surprise. As Mammoth stumbled forward, Raven encased his feet in dark energy, stopping him from regaining his balance.

He crashed to the floor, the entire building vibrating from the impact. Raven tried to hold his hands and ankles together with dark energy to stop him from getting back up. The thief started to struggle against them, using his strength, and Raven's control slipped, her soul self shattering from the amount of pressure being applied. The force jolted her body and she dropped to the floor.

She sat up, rubbing the back of her head while she watched Starfire go after the giant, landing several good blows.

"I told you Mammoth was getting stronger." Raven heard Cyborg speak from somewhere behind her, and looked round to find him shooting at Jinx with his sonic cannon. "But nooo! You all thought it was just somethin' to do with that stupid amulet."

Raven smiled at her team mate, before rolling out of the way as she caught sight of one of Jinx's hexes travelling towards Cyborg. The robotic man jumped out of the way before firing at her again. The blue beam hit her, the force of the hit pushing her back until she was caught by one of the walls.

"Did no one listen to me about the structure thing? I was being serious." Raven muttered.

"How's BB doing?"

"Broken arm, I think. It's fractured at least. He's hiding behind the counters."

"Care to help me take out your girlfriend then?"

"She is not my-"

"Yeah, I know." He glanced back at his team mate. "Insensitive comment, I know. Sorry Rae. Still, I could use your help."

* * *

"I can't believe they got away!" Beast Boy whined as Raven tried to keep him still so she could heal his arm. "That shouldn't be happening anymore!"

"We were one Titan down." Cyborg shrugged. "And usin' new tactics. It was bound to happen."

"We weren't using new tactics." Raven muttered. "Robin doesn't trust me to fight against Jinx."

"No offence Raven, but do _**you**_ trust you to fight against her?" Beast Boy asked. "I mean-"

"I'm not a child who puts petty emotions in front of the job."

"Yeah … Raven we've been inside your head, an' we know the whole emotionless demon thing you got goin' on is utter bull." The changeling shrugged. "We're not doing anything we haven't done for anyone else. Like when we tried to stop Robin from fighting Slade because he went all crazy and obsessive on us."

"And when the team talked some sense into me regarding Brother Blood," put in Cyborg. "All I could think about was kickin' his butt, even though I knew I'd be of more use shuttin' down that sonic resonator."

"What? Do you think I'm going to go on some … rampage or something? It's not the same – Jinx hasn't done anything to me that would anger me, or cause me to have some big … obsession about beating her. In fact, it's completely the opposite."

"Exactly."

"Yeah, I mean, what if she managed to guilt-trip you or somethin'?" Cyborg nodded. "Or if you started pullin' up short? Robin's just tryin' to give you some time."

"For what?"

The two men glanced at each other.

"Well … after the whole Malchior thing that time …"

"You were pretty messed up, for a while." Cyborg continued when Beast Boy fell silent. "We were worried you'd be the same with this."

"I was fifteen. I didn't really know how to … get along with people and I had the fear of the prophecy haunting me. All I could think about was what I was destined to do, and that … I couldn't risk telling you and losing my only friends. He … made me feel less alone. It was a completely different situation."

"You _still _don't know how to get along with people." Beast Boy grinned.

"We're just tryin' to look out for you." Cyborg shrugged.

"Well, you don't need to. I'm _fine_." She glared at Cyborg, before looking at Beast Boy. "I've healed it as much as I can. You still have a minor break." She pulled her hood up and left the infirmary without another word.

"_'I'm fine'."_Beast boy mimicked her. "Which usually means she isn't. At all."

"Look on the bright side – it's the first time she's actually mentioned anything about what happened."

"Maybe we should tell Robin to lay off and let her fight Jinx. Maybe then I wouldn't have gotten this!" Beast Boy pointed to his arm. "I mean, dude! I can't shift into anything! For _weeks_!"

"Hey, it was bound to happen sooner or later. Come on, let's get it into a cast before you do any more damage to it."

* * *

Raven watched Jinx pick up the two empty plates and drop them in the sink, before she turned to look at the empath, leaning back against the kitchen counter. Since she had been spending more time with the pink-haired, feline eyed villainess in the apartment – considering that without her holo-ring, any attempt at going out would have been futile – Raven had started noticing certain traits the metahuman had; all of which the empath hadn't expected to see in someone like Jinx.

For starters, the woman knew how to cook. _Really _knew how to cook. Had circumstances been different, she probably would have informed Cyborg he had a rival. When Raven had asked Jinx where she'd picked up the skill, the meta human had simply smiled, before saying, "Don't tell Giz or Mammoth I can cook. I'd rather _not _spend most of my time in the kitchen, even if I do kinda enjoy cooking."

Another trait that Raven found perhaps even more surprising was how _tidy _the woman was, in contrast to her chaotic methods on the battlefield. Everything had its place, and had to be moved there the moment it was no longer in use. Raven had already been told off several times for not putting things back right. She'd been expecting Jinx to be more like Beast Boy who, although he had improved in recent years, was happy enough to leave things thrown all over the place, so long as _he _knew where they were. Raven was neat out of habit, though Jinx seemed to take the term to an entirely new level, and this was made even more amusing by the fact that both women were still currently in their 'uniforms'. While the empath readily distinguished the difference between Jinx and 'Jenny', she was still only used to seeing Jinx in her H.I.V.E outfit when they were fighting; watching her wearing it around the apartment was definitely proving to be a novel experience for the empath.

The corner of Jinx's pale lips tugged downwards in a sort of frown as she studied the empath. "I think it's about time we had that talk; don't you?"

Raven sighed, fidgeting slightly in her chair as she glanced down, the patterns of the grain in the wooden table suddenly becoming that much more interesting. "I don't know what there is left to understand." She muttered. "All of it … well it's obvious what happened."

"Maybe it's obvious to you, Rae, but I'm sorta in the dark here. I don' know what your team was thinkin', why you started the damned 'investigation' … an' I don't know your side to it. Not really. It's not somethin' I particularly want to talk 'bout, but we have to."

"Do we? We can't change the past, so why can't we just leave it alone?"

"Why are you makin' this more difficult than it has to be? Just humour me, 'kay?"

"Fine. Why we started the whole thing is easy enough. We needed to find out why your team were suddenly beating us in every fight. Robin trailed all of you for a while, and found out about your … social life, and came up with the plan. Considering Starfire's English still needs more work, it was only natural Robin chose me. Although … hmm … now I think about it, the fact that those two are dating probably had something to do with it," she muttered as an afterthought.

"So, you didn't like, nominate yourself?"

"Azar, no! Believe me, going undercover as Rachael and pretending to date you was the last thing I wanted to do."

"So why did you?" Jinx frowned.

"I … didn't want to let my team down."

"That's it?"

Raven smiled, glancing up at her. "You make it sound like it was nothing but a small influential factor for me. No, that isn't 'it', but it is definitely one of the reasons. I can't expect you to understand why something so small would mean so much to me."

"Then make me understand. I mean, if you don' wanna do somethin', your friends should understand that."

"They do. It … it's complicated."

"Complicated?" Jinx asked, her brow rising slightly. "What part of this isn't complicated?"

"It's just … something to do with how I was raised … and the circumstances surrounding my birth."

"Angela Roth … ?"

"Is my biological mother, although she goes by the name Arella now. I haven't seen her in a few years."

"She still involved with that weird cult?"

"No. She left after she became pregnant with me."

"Okay, so Robin chose you for your stupid mission. You didn' like it, but agreed anyway. Then what?"

"Then Jenny and Rachael started seeing each other, while I was looking out for anything that could help us understand why your team had suddenly improved so much. The neighbour that recognised you, and getting shot was all just … good luck I suppose."

Jinx smiled at that. "Getting shot was your version of good luck?"

"It is one of the better things that has happened to me. Don't think I _wanted _to get shot though."

"Why _did _you move me out the way?"

Raven shrugged. "I … there wasn't really much thought involved. I panicked I guess. I … didn't want you to get hurt, or worse. I may have started out trying to keep myself detached from it all, but …" She shrugged again, looking back at the table.

"But what?"

"Well, it obviously didn't stay like that. It was one of the reasons Robin chose me. He thought I'd be able to distance myself; or keep my mind on the job. It didn't take me long to realise that wasn't happening."

"So … what did happen?"

The empath scowled at Jinx. "Now that one _is _obvious."

"Nuh uh. Come on Raven; I wanna hear it." She folded her arms, returning the scowl.

"Well … for starters I enjoyed playing the role of a civilian. I've … never really had that chance before. And well … I enjoyed – enjoy – your company. A lot."

"How much is 'a lot'?" The meta human asked, a smile replacing her scowl.

"Hey, I took a bullet for you _and _stole that amulet; do I really need to answer that question?"

"Humour me."

"Humour you? That's all I seem to be doing at the moment."

"You have a lot to make up for." Jinx shrugged, still smiling. "And you need to convince me that what I'm doin' right now _isn't _an idiotic mistake."

"I like you enough."

"Enough?" Jinx frowned.

"Mhmm. Enough that I'm currently doing some damn stupid things right now. Things that I never would have even thought about doing before all this."

"While we're still talkin' 'bout stupid things, has Robin gotten any closer to …"

"Figuring out I stole the amulet? No. Not that it should take them too long now. He isn't stupid; he'll figure it out sooner or later. If he doesn't, the Justice League will."

"So, we're all cool?"

"For the moment, yes."

Jinx pushed off from the kitchen counter and walked over to Raven, straddling the woman's lap. "Although, having you here full time might not be such a bad thing."

"You'd become bored of me." Raven smiled, her arms going around Jinx's waist.

"Wanna know why I kept seein' Rachael, even though I knew it was a bad idea, bein' a villain and all?"

"Why?"

"Because, even though I know why now, I could tell there was a lot you were keepin' to yourself, an' it intrigued me. Curiosity an' all that shit. And then there was the way you _treated _me. Like, I'd had a few flings before I got into the whole one night stand thing an' … well no one was as nice to me as you are."

Raven looked away from her, staring at the space over her shoulder. "Nice? That isn't exactly how I would describe what I did."

"Okay, pretending it wasn't all some scheme, you still treated me a hell of a lot better than what I'm used to. But anyway, the curiosity thing … that's kinda why I know I'm _not _gonna get bored of you – you're still the Titan we know least about, and somehow I don' think that's about to change."

"Of course not." The empath smiled slightly, looking back at Jinx.

"You know, Giz still can't work out why your DNA didn't match up with anythin'."

"Good."

"You're not gonna tell, are you?"

"No. Good luck figuring that one out."

"Why won't you tell?" Jinx pressed.

"Does it really matter what I am?"

"_'What'_? So you're not human?"

Raven suddenly disappeared as her soul self surrounded her, teleporting from underneath Jinx and turning up over by the sink. The meta human frowned, before turning round, so she was sat on the chair the right way round, and could see Raven.

"Just drop it, okay? I'm not answering any of your questions."

"Why not?" Jinx frowned.

"Because family is not something I want to talk about."

"That bad, huh?" Jinx asked, sighing when the empath didn't answer, just looked away from the woman. "Okay, okay. I get it. I'll stop asking."

"Why don't I believe that?"

"Hey, I'm not intentionally tryin' to upset you." Jinx stood up and walked over to her, taking hold of both her hands, trying to get Raven to look at her. "Aren't the good guys meant to have some happy past an' shit?"

Raven laughed; a quick exhale of air. "When I find a hero with a good past, I'll let you know."

"Cliché, huh?"

"Something like that." Raven nodded, looking back at her.

"Okay, well … I won't bring it up again. Not today, anyway."

"Gee, thanks."

"Like you said the other day, I'm impulsive. I could say I won't ask again, but I would be lying, 'cause I probably will."

"… at least you're honest."

"We've both done enough lyin'; don't you think?"

"Someone still is lying. To her team mates anyway." Raven muttered.

"Why don't ya just tell 'em? Leavin' out the whole amulet thing obviously."

"Team rules. No getting involved with criminals; romantically or otherwise."

"It's an actual rule?" Jinx frowned, her face scrunching up.

"Mhmm."

"Dude, what's up with that? The bad guys don't have any rules like that."

"That's kind of the point." Raven smiled slightly. "And it does make sense. We're a prime example for why that rule is in place."

"Hey, at the time I would have happily never spoken to you again. _You're _a prime example; I didn' do nothin' to convince you to steal that shit, or break me an' the boys out'a jail. It's not affectin' my relationship with my team."

"Well, lucky you."

"Makes a change, don' yah think?"

"You've always had good luck." The empath muttered. "You give all your bad luck to everyone else."

"Thought you said I worked with probability, not luck." Jinx grinned. "Ain't that what you've been tryin' to teach me?"

"So, you do pay attention."

"You _always _have my attention." Jinx grinned, stepping into Raven as she let go of the woman's hands and wrapped them around her waist instead.

"Just in the wrong ways at the wrong time."

"Honey, have you even seen yourself?"

"Robin's going to notice if you keep it up." Raven warned, trying to hide her blush. "You're meant to be hell bent on _beating_ my ass, as far as he's concerned, not _staring_ at it."

"Then change your costume, because it's a great view once your cloak's out'a the way."

"I am not changing my outfit."

"What is it with female heroes and revealin' outfits?"

"I can name quite a few that wear reasonable outfits. Not that you villains are any better."

"My costume ain't revealin'."

"Hmm. We're going to have to do something about that then, aren't we?" Raven smiled slightly, leaning into the meta human and moving her hands round to the zipper hidden at the back of Jinx dress.

"You know, I was worried that you'd be more … I dunno, _timid _now you ain't got some fake personality to hide behind." Jinx purred, ducking her head in order to lay kisses along the empath's neck. "You know, since you always han' back an' stuff?"

"I don't 'hang back' from things because I'm _timid_."

"Then why do ya?" Jinx asked as she unclasped Raven's cloak and let it drop to the floor. "An' can I just say, it's kinda trippy, havin' you in your titan outfit."

"That feeling is … mutual. And I don't think you want to hear the answer right now."

"Why not?" The meta human pulled back slightly so she could look at Raven.

"I'll tell you later." She shook her head.

"Nuh uh. You have me interested now. What don' I want to hear?"

"You know a bit about how my powers work – figure it out for yourself."

"Come on Rae."

"No. We just talked about this; I'm not going to explain this to you, especially not right now."

"Okay, _now _you definitely aren't gettin' out of this one." Jinx stepped back, moving the shoulders of her dress back up as they tried to slide down her arms.

"There hasn't been a problem so there is nothing to talk about."

"Why are you turnin' this into such a big deal? Every time somethin' comes up regardin' you, _BAM_! Hello, blockade. 'Kay, I get why the family thin' might be sensitive, but this? Rae, you use your abilities every damn day. Explainin' somethin' to me ain't gonna end the world, you know."

"The dark energy I use … my soul self … it isn't the most stable thing you'll ever come across. Strong emotions make it … worse. Apparently, in this case, it doesn't affect it at all, but you've seen me lose control during fights. I stay back from things because it's safer to do so – safer for those around me."

"Please say Boy Blunder didn' know this when he pitched that plan. Are you sayin' that ..?"

"He did, actually. And if the end to that sentence was something along the lines of, 'you could have lost that control at any point and seriously injured me, or worse," then, yes. I am saying that."

"Don't speak like you're me. It's weird. There is no way I could ever pull off soundin' so sophisticated."

"My point is, it didn't happen like that, so we don't need to talk about it."

"Still, it's kinda nice to know that your girlfriend could accidently kill you at any moment. Thanks for the heads up."

"And I'm not putting myself at risk being around you? You're bad luck, Jinx. You can't go anywhere without something going wrong."

"Ain't that the beautiful truth?" The villainess grinned. "And there's nothin' like the threat of death to ruin the mood."

"You shouldn't ask so many questions. Your curiosity is going to be the end of you one day. That's twice now – in one night – your damned curiosity has interrupted us."

"Maybe you need to try an' keep me distracted better."

"You distract yourself." Raven muttered with a small smile, tugging Jinx closer to her, before removing the bands keeping her hair up, running her fingers through it, and attempting to flatten it to the woman's shoulders.

"So, what you gonna do when you get an emergency call on your communicator?"

"There you go again."

"It was actually a serious question this time."

"I go and answer the call."

"And when your leader asks why you weren't in the tower?"

"I'm not a recluse. I do spend quite a bit of time _out _of the tower, you know? Robin knows that. He's not going to instantly suspect I was with you." Her fingers reached the end of the mass of pink, frothy hair and tugged on the collar of Jinx's dress. "If you keep asking questions, that emergency signal is going to sound sooner rather than later."

"Yeah, that'd be just our _luck_." Jinx muttered as she slid a hand over the empath's shoulders and pulled the woman towards her, her other hand moving underneath Raven chin, tilting the shorter woman's head up towards her.

The gentleness of the kiss surprised Raven, and she pulled back slightly. "Is everything … okay?"

"What? Can't we take it slow every once in a while?"

"Wine and dine me, huh?"

"Well, we're out'a good wine, but I did cook for you, so yeah, let's go with that."

"You are many things Jinx, but you're not a romantic. Besides, I still have a bruise from where you punched me, and I heal quickly."

"What? You think Robbie-boy wouldn't notice if I were pullin' up short?"

"Yeah, like I'm going to believe that thought was running through your head at the time." Raven rolled her eyes.

"Look, I know you keep acting like you're fine with the idea of your team kickin' you out but … well, my team … Giz an' Mammoth are kinda like my brothers, an' I mean, my _only _family. I'd be lost without 'em. An' you'd be without your team, wouldn't you?"

"I made my choice." Raven shrugged. "I spent a month trying to make my mind up. I know my team mates, and I know exactly what they're going to do."

"And you don' ever wish that you'd done it different? You've put an awful lot of faith in a criminal, you know?"

"What faith? I wasn't expecting you to accept the apology. The plan was to give you the amulet, then serve my jail sentence when they discovered it was me – I'm not a thief; I will have left evidence without realising it."

"Dude, you can teleport. Jump City Penitentiary wouldn't be able to hold you. You don't have to serve your time if you don't want."

"No. But I bet Arkham could. I'm about ninety-five percent sure that's where Robin's going to send me."

"Raven, Arkham's for the insane … for wacko murderers. Robin wouldn't send you there."

"Let's just call it a failsafe. We even have a room back at the tower that could hold me, should it be necessary."

"Failsafe? In case of what?"

"It has a lot to do with my powers, and _everything _to do with my family. Therefore, I'm not going to talk about it."

"Even as an ex-hero, they'd rip you to pieces in Arkham. Hell, they'd try to here. If a riot started … Rae, you need to know the right people to survive, an' you don't have those people. You're not going to any prison. Gizmo's sortin' out that holo ring for you … you can stay here in Jump City. The moment you even think Robin might be onto you, you teleport here, understand?"

"I may have broken the law once, but I never intended on doing it again Jinx."

"I've spent a lot of my life so far in jails, Raven, so you listen to me. Last jail break at Arkham, Batman covered it, like he usually does. I'm sure you heard about how many deaths there were. If Robin didn't get the figures from the Bat, it was _all _over the media. Most of 'em were fellow inmates. You know why? Because the bad guys don't work together. The fewer of you there are, the more likely you are to escape unnoticed. An' that's not even covering rival gangs. Rae, you're a known superhero. They will _target _you. Hell, they'll probably start a riot just for a chance to get at you. I know how this shit works."

"I didn't know you cared. I can handle myself; I'll be fine."

"Look, you're sayin' you don't wanna break the law again. Fine, whatever. That's your choice. But if you're serious about that – an' I mean we're just talkin' about a jail sentence here – if you really mean that, then the only way you're comin' out of that place is in a body bag."

"So I knock them unconscious … break a few legs?" Raven laughed slightly, nervous. "Besides, the sentence isn't going to be _that _long. A year at the most."

"An' there's your second problem. You know, Arkham has a real thing about labelling its inhabitants as criminally insane. That means they get to keep you for as long as they deem necessary. Ask Robin. Of course, a lot of their prisoners _are. _Didn' you say somethin' about being an empath? Do you really wanna be in a place like that for any amount of time?"

"Jinx, we are not talking about this."

"Yes, we are. Look, I trusted you, back outside the club an' what you said, so why can't you just trust me on this one?" Jinx gripped the woman's arms. "Please? You can live here, an' wear the holo-ring … we'll get someone to fix you up a fake ID and stuff."

"Why are you acting like this? I'll be contained until the end of my sentence – they let me out of the room or whatever they put me in, and there's the risk of me teleporting. Think of it like the tank they put Ivy in."

"You know 'bout that?"

"Basic training. You know how to trap someone; cut them off from their strengths, and you know how to beat them. Robin talked us through how all of the more … threatening prisoners are kept in Arkham."

"Basic training?" Jinx shook her head. "Man, basic training for me was goin' over different types of locks an' how to pick 'em. Lookin' for weaknesses an' all that shit, that came later. Okay, say they do keep you contained. Say they don't try to keep you longer than the court permits, an' say the inmates don't try to get at you … I still don't want you goin' in. For starters, what am I meant'a do while you're behind bars?"

"What you usually do? You know, steal? Annoy the Titans?"

"You know, I think Robin might provide a bit of entertainment. I'd be awful lonely though."

"I'm sure you'll find a way to entertain yourself."

"Maybe I don't want to."

"Jinx, I don't want to spend the rest of my life hiding behind some fake identity."

"… Then I get admitted with you. I've got the H.I.V.E at my back – we're more wide spread than people think. There'd be someone in there we can side with."

"No. If I need to I'll just … scare them off."

"Ahah! Come on Rae, they're hardened psychopaths in there. How the hell are you meant to scare them?"

"Quite easily, actually." The empath muttered.

Jinx's face suddenly lit up. "I still don't wan' you in there, but now that I think about it, you're mom was part of that cult; that'd probably have some backin' in there. You know, crazy demon worshipers probably get admitted from time to time."

"That wouldn't work Jinx; I'm not even close to being on good terms with the cult. They'd want to kill me as much as anyone else in there and probably a hell of a lot more."

"Why?"

"Let's just say I foiled their plans of bringing Scath to earth along with the other Titans. Well, sent him back, anyway."

"Are you trying to tell me …"

"Demons are real? Maybe."

"You know what? I don't wanna know. Ignorance is bliss, right?"

"I'm going to take you literally with that one."

"Whatever. Seriously though Rae, please just think 'bout it. If they were gonna stick you in somewhere like Jump Penitentiary, whatever. You've probably beat up everyone in there, an' you could again. I don't want you goin' somewhere like Arkham though."

"Fine. I'll think it over."

"I mean it Raven. Once they figure out it was you who took the amulet, you'll already be on record. Skipping the court hearin' an' anything else they try to give you won't really do any more harm."

"I promise – I'll think about it, okay?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Reviews:**

**I'm a Lover not a Hater: **Quite a large update, not that I'm complaining. Really would like to know how scare Arkham prisoners. Anyways great writing as usual.

_Ahah didn't think people would. Same although remember that episode when she scared Giz into helping them with Cyborg? Her shadow look liked she'd changed her shape._

**XxRin-sanxX: **Jinx and all her damn questions! Raven needs to trust Jinx more, though, and needs to so NOT go to jail. I really want her to turn into a villian! I can't wait to see what happens when Robin finds out about the relationship, and the rest of the team's reactions? I want Rae to turn to the dark side. Hehe, Star Wars... Seriously, everything Jinx said is absolutely, positively true and Raven should take it to heart. I love how much Jinx cares. Great chapter! Update...update faster than Superman can fly!  
Rin

_Ahah she is a curious one, isn't she? Lmao why is everyone so eager to see Rae join the dark side xD Ahah anyway, glad you liked xD_

**Edokage: **I hope the League gets involved when the truth comes out. After all, nothing makes a story exciting like conflict, and conflict, if anything, is aplenty when you look at the relationship between the Titans and the League. I imagine, in addition to Robin/Batman and Raven/Zatanna (she was the one to advice the League against helping her fight Trigon in the comic, but you probably already knew that) tensions, there will also likely be some sort of conflict between leaguers and Starfire (since Tamaraneans are culturally warriors and the League is mostly pacifistic, some leaguers are likely to have a low opinion of her people, whom she in turn will defend very passionately) and Beast Boy (since the Doom Patrol will probably have a bad reputation in the League (they don't play well with others, after all) should they ever have crossed roads. Also, like Starfire, Beast Boy will almost definitely take negative comments, justified or not, very personal).

_I'm always worried about involving the league, because I'm not used to writing them, but I guess it's time to bust out my comics and get some research done, huh? Yeah, conflict aplenty. (I for one hate Zatanna due to the little stunt with Raven) I am really considering bringing them in at some point._

**williamsoft1:** loving the story so far.  
would have signed in to leave a review, but I'm on my phone hence the short review.  
Can't wait for the next chapter.

_I'm glad you like it! Ahah no worries – any review is a good review. _

**nada129: **I really can't wait to see what happens to raven u have me on the edge of my seat so please update quick and chapter 2 was another great chapter so keep up the hard work

_Hmm good to know the story at least has your attention :P _

**Angelic Toaster: **Hmm... this one makes you wonder. I like how you have all of the characters interact, keeping them all as separate, real people and not just characters. More soon please?

_One thing I always have tried to work hard on is the characters – there's nothing worse than a fan fiction where the characters are out of place/OOC/ or just… have no life to them, as far as I'm concerned. Good to know I'm managing to keep out of that. _

**Echo of an Idiot: **I'm trying to see where this is going to take Raven, either Away from the Titans or split between Titans and Jinx and I got to say I'm having trouble guessing. So I guess I'll just have to keep reading it to see where it goes, so keep 'em coming. I need to see how this ends.  
And on another note, I'm surprised it took BB this long to break a bone. Guy is on the ass end of an ass kicking in just about every fight he gets into. Well that's it from me for today, so until next time I'll be-  
Waiting impatiently for the next chapter,  
Echo of an Idiot

_Ahah I'm glad you can't guess the answer xD And yes, ditto. We only saw Robin actually break anything in the animation, but hey, some of BB's forms are going to be kinda delicate._

**Concolor44: **Okay, once again, we'll take these a section at a time.  
The fight was pretty good. And BB got a broken bone! I'm frankly amazed that doesn't happen more often, as much as they all get knocked around. Baseline humans would be a bloody bag of bone shards after some of those fights. But I'm a little curious. If he turned into something without an endoskeleton, say, an earthworm, and then turned back human, wouldn't his transformation use the "base form" template and re-create his body in un-damaged condition? I can't imagine why it wouldn't do that. Come to think of it, though, he never did that in the cartoon. Hmm. Have to cogitate on that one.  
Also, considering Raven's powers, another thing she didn't do in the cartoon that I think she ought to do is just grab up an opponent in a bubble of soul-self and zip straight up about a kilometer. Unless said opponent can FLY, he'll be COMPLETELY at her mercy. I mean, what's he gonna do? If he knocks her out, he'll have ten seconds or so to contemplate what a bad decision that was before he hits the ground at roughly 150 klicks. That'll ruin anybody's afternoon! But, hey, maybe she's just so used to practicing extreme restraint because of what underlies her powers, that she really IS afraid to pull something like that. Eh. Not important, I suppose.  
Mammoth is definitely getting stronger. He didn't used to be able to stand up under Starfire's assaults that well.  
That little 'oops' that Raven dropped on Gizmo was priceless!  
Sounds like BB & Vic are starting to ask the right questions, which is unnerving Raven. As it should. ("I'm fine." Except she isn't.)

Wow. The level of tension, sexual and otherwise, that you've going between the girls is something else! Raven sure is close with information on her background, isn't she? I suppose that's "typical Raven" but I really think she ought to give Jinx the benefit of the doubt. She won't kick Raven out because of her parentage, regardless of what the tight-assed empath thinks.  
Excellent chapter! Nice and long, too (always a bonus).

_You know, I never thought about that. Would it heal, or would part of his external shell be broken? What is he shifted into a jellyfish? They don't have any support. _

_Ahah yeah, technically Raven has several ways of totally beating the badguys up with just a flick of her hand. I'm guessing it has something to do with the restrain she's so used to keeping on them. Hmm yeah, if Jinx's willing to take her back even though she knows she's a titan… I'm sure she wouldn't be to hard on the girl if she did know her heritage. _

**Silently Watches: **I'm here with an account and a new name! Ah, it's kinda sweet how much Jinx is worried for Raven's safety. Not that she needs to, of course; if Raven ever got mobbed that badly, I doubt she would be able keep Rage from coming out to play. And yes, Jinx, there are many parts of Raven where ignorance is bliss!  
It is funny that Beast Boy no longer believes Raven can distance her emotions from the mission, especially since that is exactly what happened here. Just 'cause they're sweet on each other is no reason they can't kick the other team's collective butts.  
Silently Watches out.

_Ahah I knew it was you as soon as I saw it :P Ahah! Yeah, Rae wouldn't put up with being throw around for too long. Never thought of it that way, but it pretty much is what's happening haha. Maybe Rae's being a little more easy to distract than usual, but she's still not afraid to kick that girl's butt._

**Dak Hamee: **Awwww Jynx cares, they r so cute together, great story keep up the good work

_Ahah she does. Glad you like it so far :) _

**Juniper Night: **NNNOOOOOOO! That's it? Septic, you must update soon okay? Your loyal fans are all dying to know what'll happen when the Titans realize what happened and Jinx finds out Raven's heritage.  
Juniper

_That's it? Dude, did you see how long that chapter was? :P Yeah, you're not gonna get the answer to that in this chapter either xD_

**Mrow**: Keep up the good work

_Ahah, I'll try to :)_

**Spikesagitta: **With their luck...talking about it probably count as tempting fate so I'm sure that will happen sooner or later.

_With their collective luck… it's definitely counts as tempting fate haha._

* * *

Jinx groaned as a steady but loud '_beep_' woke her up, the sound repeating itself every few seconds. She stretched out, several joints making a satisfying _'pop,' _before she shoved the shoulder of the woman sprawled out on the bed next to her. "Rae, I think your communicator's goin' off."

"Wha'?"

The meta human could tell from the tone of her voice that Raven was still half sleep, so sat up as she shoved her again.

Purple eyes opened and blinked several times at Jinx, before contorting into a frown. "What?"

"Your communicator! Wake up an' turn it off already! Jesus woman; I thought _I _was bad in the morning."

"My _what_?" Raven jerked up as Jinx's words finally processed and threw the covers off her. "What time is it?"

The woman watched for a moment, appreciating the view she had of Raven's ass before glancing at the clock on the bed-side table. "Almost nine."

"Shit!" She yanked her leotard on, almost losing her balance, her eyes still searching the floor for something. "Where's my cloak?"

"Kitchen." Jinx grinned, before adding, "You're forgetting somethin'." Raven paused to frown at the villain, and Jinx leaned down over the side of the bed, stretching to reach something across the floor, before throwing it at the empath, who caught it with one hand. "Unless you'd rather go without. Pretty sure the boys are gonna notice though. You're a few cup sizes too big to get away with that."

"This isn't funny." Raven stressed as she pulled the arms of her leotard back down, quickly putting on the bra Jinx had thrown her. "Robin's going to kill me."

"Yeah; that was like, the third time I think I've ever heard you cuss."

"How am I even meant to explain this to Robin?" The empath zipped the back of her leotard up with her powers as she rushed out of the bedroom, and out of Jinx's sight.

"I dunno. You needed a bit of fresh air or somethin'?" Jinx rolled off the bed and moved to stand in the doorway, leaning against the door frame as she watched Raven fasten her cloak over her shoulders. "Chill."

"_Chill_? I'm just lucky Beast Boy's out of the fight; I might actually be able to get back to the tower and have a shower _before _he picks up your scent."

"You're welcome. You sure it's not just Robin checkin' up on you though?"

"Different ring tone." She shook her head. "I'll see you later."

"What, don't I get a kiss goodbye?" Jinx pouted.

Raven sighed as she quickly crossed the room. "You are such a pain."

The woman smiled as she draped her arms over the empath's shoulders. "Remember what you promised last night? You really gonna choose a damp cell over this?"

Raven's lips twitched into a smile as she leaned up slightly and kissed Jinx, sliding her hands round to the skin of Jinx's lower back as she pulled the meta human closer to her, forcing a small sound out of the pink haired woman. As she pulled back, Raven rested her forehead against Jinx's, still wearing a small smile. "I was raised by Monks; I was taught how to resist temptation a long time ago. Nice try though. I promised you I'd think about it, and I will; now seriously, I need to go."

Jinx let her arms drop as Raven moved back. "That's the first I've heard 'bout any monks. You could always come back an' have that shower here."

"That would be defeating the point."

"You really gonna think about the whole jail thing?"

Raven smiled slightly as the floor underneath her turned black, the dark energy climbing up her legs. "Scout's honour."

Jinx started to reply, but the empath disappeared. She shook her head as she walked back over to the bed. "Scout's honour my ass."

* * *

Raven opened her communicator the moment she surfaced through the roof of the apartment, reading off the co-ordinates. Already open, the device automatically connected her to Robin's call, her leader's face appearing in the top screen.

"Raven, where are you?"

"On my way. Who is it?"

"Plasmas."

"Just Plasmas? Good. Now I don't have to feel so guilty about running late."

"We're already down one titan; we can't afford to be down by another. Where were you last night?"

"Fighting against the H.I.V.E. … against Jinx, took more of a toll on my mind than I thought it would. I went just outside the city to meditate. I needed some time to myself." She lied.

Robin's face softened slightly. "Okay. How long until you reach the co-ordinates?"

"I'll be there in minutes." Raven replied.

"Good."

Robin cut the connection, the empath letting out a sigh of relief as she hung her communicator back on her belt, pulling her hood up with her other hand, keeping an eye on the streets as she neared the co-ordinates her communicator had given her.

"Well, at least I won't have to worry about Beast Boy picking out Jinx's scent over the stench of toxic waste once I'm back at the tower." Raven muttered to herself, not entirely sure which she'd rather deal with.

She paused for a moment as she caught sight of a large cloud of dust rising up between several buildings, before she flew forward again, moving faster than she had been before, unclipping her communicator from her belt again.

"Raven calling Robin."

"Raven?" Her leader's voice acknowledged her a few seconds later.

"Are you there yet?"

"No, why?"

"Just wanted to know if what I'm seeing is Plasmas's doing, or the team's. Are you sure it's just him?"

"Not completely, why?"

"Plasmas usually goes for sources of toxic waste … or sewer water unless he's under orders. I'm not quite there, but he seems to be doing a lot of damage to something."

"Be careful Raven; don't engage until we reach you, especially if he's not on his own."

Raven hesitated, before nodding slightly. "Understood."

She hung the device back on her belt as she came to a stop, studying the street below her from her position above the buildings, easily spotting the burgundy mutation of a man. She watched as he tried to break through the road for a moment, before her eyes swept along the rest of the street, a light frown on her face as she tried to find whatever damage had created that cloud of dust.

Raven started lowering herself to street level as she caught sight of the T-Car skidding around the corner, landing beside the custom made car as it screeched to a stop and Robin, Starfire and Cyborg climbed out.

Robin quickly moved over to the empath, his eyes on Plasmas. "Is he on his own?"

"I'm not sure. I want to say no, but I haven't seen anyone else."

"Can you _sense _anyone else?" The boy wonder asked.

Raven closed her eyes for a moment, dropping some of the barriers around her mind as she reached out around her. "There are some people still in the surrounding buildings, but I think they're civilians." She opened her eyes to look at Robin. "Nothing that's making my think 'bad guy'."

"Better safe than sorry." Robin nodded. "Right; Raven, Cyborg, you two are going to focus on trying to knock our friend here unconscious. Starfire and I'll try to keep his attention."

"And if there is someone else hangin' around?" Cyborg asked.

"Just keep your eyes open and don't let your guard down."

* * *

Beast Boy's ears picked up as he heard the T-Car's engine. He threw the gaming controller aside as he dashed around the sofa and all but sprinted out of the common room, jumping into the elevator at the end of the corridor, frantically pressing the button for the garage.

The changeling had never felt so bored, and was anxious about missing out on missions. He'd often tried to play up illnesses during his earlier years as a Teen Titan, on the off chance that someone would believe him and let him have a day off, and now that he had that time, he didn't want it; video games weren't as fun when he was missing out on the real action.

The doors to the lift opened and he rushed out, eyes finding all of his team mates, who were covered in foul smelling goo and looking displeased to say the least, but all unharmed.

"How did it go? What was he after? Did you figure out how he broke out of jail? Is he still spitting acid from like, the incident with-"

"It went fine, we don't know, no, an' yes. Now do you think you can wait for us to clean up before you fire off any more stupid questions?" Cyborg interrupted him, flicking a lump of burgundy goo off his shoulder.

"It's all right for you guys." Beast Boy muttered. "You're not stuck in the tower. I was gonna watch you on the street's security cameras, but Watch Tower called in."

Everyone paused, giving the green titan their full attention. "What did they want?" Robin asked.

"Uh, somethin' about security tapes and an anomaly. They couldn't work out what it was. Said somethin' about running the footage through their programs, then sendin' it to us in case we could figure it out."

"Then we have a lead on our thief!" Starfire declared happily.

"It isn't a lead, not at the moment." Raven muttered, trying to seem nonchalant as she unclasped her cloak and shook it out. "An anomaly could mean anything; a glitch in the recording, interference… did they say when they would be sending us the footage?"

"Nope." Beast Boy shook his head. "At least, I don't think they did."

"No surprise there." Robin muttered. "If they send us anything to look at, it won't be because they expect us to find anything. They have a bit of a 'once a sidekick always a sidekick' attitude."

"Well, it doesn't help that we're still going under the name _Teen _Titans." Raven noted. She glanced sideways at Beast Boy, a small smile on her face. "Not to mention certain aliases …"

"What? It's catchy!" The changeling defended himself.

"You're twenty-one."

"So?"

Raven sighed, before glancing at Robin, the small smile back on her face.

"Don't even start on me." Robin shook his head. "Okay, so maybe we do ask for it, but dropping an identity isn't easy."

The empath nodded in acknowledgement. "Not to mention it'll probably take the city a while to come to grips with the name change."

"Where were you anyway?" Beast Boy frowned at Raven. "You just kinda disappeared last night."

"I … just needed some time to myself, away from the tower." She shrugged. "It's not the first time."

"Yeah, but it's the first time since the whole thing with Trigon."

"Drop it, Beast Boy." Robin spoke up as he moved over to the lift. "I'll contact the Watch Tower and try to get some more information about these security tapes. Cyborg, Raven, see if you can figure out how Plasmas escaped from jail. Starfire, do you mind covering Beast Boy's patrol shift for today?"

The alien shook her head, beaming at her leader, Beast Boy not looking quite as enthusiastic.

"So, what can I do?"

Robin frowned at the changeling. "I thought you of all people would want to make the most out of being on medical leave from Titan business."

"Well, yeah but … it's not as fun when you don't have a choice."

"Then sit an' watch the jail's security tapes with me an' Rae." Cyborg offered. "_After _I've gotten the rest of Plasmas off me."

"You're staying here when we go to talk to their head of security though." Raven warned.

"Next time I see Jinx, it's not gonna be pretty." The changeling raged as he followed his friends into the elevator.

"What, so you can get your ass handed to you again?" Cyborg laughed.

"Dude, not cool." Beast Boy frowned. "I could so beat her in a fight." He looked at the empath. "Right, Raven?"

She shook her head, and his ears drooped slightly as Cyborg laughed at him again.

* * *

"I still think what you're doin' is dumb, but at least you're not afraid to kick the Titan's butt." Gizmo spoke up as he watched his leader sprawl out on the common room sofa, her feet on the coffee table.

"There a point you tryin' to make?" Jinx asked as she reached for the TV remote.

He shrugged. "That you're stupid?"

"Yeah, you've told me – on multiple occasions."

"I've done some more research on Brother Blood."

"For god's sake, why? I already told you; she don't have nothin' to do with the damned cult."

"He's dead."

"What?" Jinx frowned, tearing her eyes off the TV.

"Okay, so it didn't officially say that anywhere, but a new guy's taken over. Someone called Sebastian Blood IX, an' our Sebastian's been missin'."

"So why say he's dead?"

"Found some rumour about some ancient curse. Don't believe it for a second, because if it's true it means this shit about some prayer shawl thing is real, but they could still believe it is. Basically the original Brother Blood, like seven hundred years ago was told his son would kill him before his hundredth birthday. An' it happened. His kid took over the church. My bet is they still sort out their priest that way."

"You sayin' Brother Blood had a _kid_?" The meta human shook her head. "Man, that is just pure weird. Why you tellin' me all this anyway?"

"Well, I was plannin' to get some dirt on your girlfriend from our Blood, but you know, since he vanished, I got in touch with the new guy. Just in case."

"And?"

"He wouldn't say shit; tried to sell me some crap about his cult, but he _**damn**_ well knows somethin'. Wanted to know why we thought she was associated to 'em, whether she was still livin' in Jump … that kinda thing."

Jinx's eyes widened. "You didn' tell him anythin', did you?"

"How stupid do you think I am? I told him I don't give out information for free. Bastard still didn' tell me anythin'." He studied his leader. "Why?"

"If anythin', Rae's on the cult's _bad _side. She an' the rest of the Titans majorly ticked them off at some point."

"An' you know this because?"

"We were talkin' about her options once the Titans figure out she was the one that stole that amulet." Jinx shrugged. "Whatever, just stop with the whole cult thing; you know who Rachael was; you don't need ta keep lookin' into it."

"Jinx, this guy knows somethin' about 'er that we don't."

"An' if she wants to share with me what that is, she will. In her own time."

Gizmo frowned at the woman, before shaking his head and turning to his computer. "Well I'm gonna find out what it is in _my _owntime."

**Sorry that this update is so much shorter. Promise the next one will be longer.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Reviews:**

**I'm a Lover not a Hater: **Gizmo you idiot, all you're gonna do is get both teams in trouble. Love  
Concolor44's reviews. :)

_He just doesn't know when he's taking something too far xD ahah I love his reviews too!_

**Juniper Night: **DUN dun DUUNNNN  
The plot thickens; yet oddly enough, I don't think they've got any evidence against Raven on that clip. Which begs the question, what IS on the video? I'm worried that Gizmo's prying already is going to have consequences. I look forward to finding the anwsers I seek in the next chapter, so update soon please!  
Juniper

_Oh? We'll just have to see, I suppose. Ahah not ALL the answers are in this chapter. Hell, probably just more questions. _

**Taeniaea: **cool chapter

_Thank you :)_

**nada129: **awesome chapter I can't wait to see the titans faces when they find out it was raven LOL robin is gonna have kittens when he finds out another great chapter from u keep it up

_Ahah yeah, don't think they're gonna take to well to the news :) Glad you thought so_

**Concolor44: **Raven's excuses are growing a bit thin, and I think some of her teammates are beginning to suspect that all is not well.  
That conversation about them not being the "Teen" Titans anymore was right on target. And BB started calling himself Changeling well before he hit 21 in the comic!  
Anomalies in the security tapes? That does not sound good. Raven's on the razor's edge of being caught.  
Interesting information about Brother Blood. And Gizmo's call puts Raven squarely back on their radar. A four-way conflict (the girls, the League, the Titans, and the Church of Blood) could get REALLY messy REALLY quickly. Also, once Giz has his teeth in a problem, he won't let go until he solves it. Soit's only a matter of time until Raven's secret is out.

_Ahah, yes he did. Which is why I thought I should bring it up. No, it doesn't sound good, does it. The good old comic history for the line of Brother Bloods is actually really interesting. I love the character (not the animation version, but the comic version. But yeah messy is one way to describe it. _

**rest for the wicked: **Very satisfying chapter regardless of its short lengTh. I look forward to the next one and wish you well in writing it.

_That's nice to hear :)_

**Spikesagitta: **Raven's really going to passively roll over and go to jail? It would be awesome to see Raven go all evil and open a can of whoop ass on anyone who try to lock her up. And if I was a betting man, I bet the League sort of knows who did it.

_I don't know _what_ Rae's gonna do! Yeah, the league ARE… well they're made up out of A-listing superheroes! They've probably seen just about everything. _

**Silently Watches: **I get the feeling that this will not be the last uncomfortable situation Raven is in the middle of before everything comes to light. It would have been very funny if she had run out without that particular article of clothing, though. My money is on the team being defeated because of the boys' eyes gravitating toward her tits.  
Oh, so not good. I knew the security tapes were going to bite Raven in the ass, but reading how you're moving it along still sets me on edge. I wonder what the "anomaly" is.  
And as for the new Brother Blood, all I have to say is "Gizmo, you IDIOT!" It was the Cult's actions that made Raven's conception possible, what's to say they don't consider her their property? If the Cult gets involved, Raven's going to have enemies on all three sides. The Titans, the criminals, and the Cult are all going to want their pound of flesh.  
Silently Watches out.

_Not in the least! The whole situation she's gotten herself into is damn uncomfortable! Ahah funny, and maybe slightly unfortunate. And probably painful. Any type of sport + no bra =discomfort/pain. On edge is good xD. Yeah, Brother Blood aint good news. Neither is his damned church. Hey, don't forget the JL aren't going to be happy with her, and well, she's already on certain terms with some of the members… _

* * *

"Exactly how many hours of tape do we have to go through?" Beast Boy whined.

"However long it takes us to figure out _why _Plasmus woke up." Cyborg answered.

"No one smashed him out, or took the container." Raven reminded her team mates, "Which means someone must have tampered with the tank's operating systems."

"And we're gonna find out who that was, how?"

"We see who entered the room over the past few days, head on down to the jail, an' get some questioning done," the robotic titan replied.

"We can't accuse anyone of purposely altering the settings, but we can add them to our list of people to keep an eye on." The empath nodded, taking her eyes off the screen for a moment to look at the changeling.

"I just don't get it; what would anyone even gain from usin' Plasmus? Even Cinderblock has a bigger brain than Plasmus." Beast Boy shook his head.

"A distraction?" Cyborg offered. "It's been done before."

"But a distraction from what? We would have been alerted if there had been any significant robberies. Beast Boy's right. Why _would _someone choose to release Plasmus over all the other criminals in that place? What if it wasn't a distraction as such? Maybe someone wanted to observe us – how we fight as a team?"

"What would the point of that be? The only guy around here who would bother with that is Slade. Not only has he vanished off the map, he already _knows _about our weaknesses and strengths."

"Could be a new dude." Beast Boy offered.

"A new guy that's interested in us, an' not just in general crime stuff?" Cyborg frowned.

"Wasn't that the general deal with Slade?" Raven asked, before pointing at the screen, bringing it back to everyone's attention. "We have someone."

Cyborg paused the tape, studying the man on screen before frowning. "Rae, he's wearin' the technicians uniform."

"Exactly. If anyone could get away with altering the settings without raising suspicion, it's one of the jail's technicians, and if it wasn't him, he would have noticed something was wrong, and would have put it back to the needed settings."

"… well when you put it like that." Her team mate muttered.

"How long was this before his escape?"

Cyborg looked at the twenty-four hour clock in the top corner of the recording. "About four hours before he escaped."

"We need to find out exactly how Plasmus's container is meant to work." Raven murmured as she studied the screen. "And whether or not all the controls are local to the room."

"We can ask when we're down there." Cyborg nodded. "Four hours is a long stretch."

"Unless the tank has a cool-down time. I can't imagine the wake-up process being immediate."

"BB, can you give Robin the low-down once he's finished talking to the JL?" Cyborg looked at the changeling. "Me and Rae might as well head down now."

"You think someone's behind it with some reason we're yet to figure out, so you're gonna interview a few people and stuff. And you think one of the technician guys is behind it. Got it."

"We shouldn't be too long. We'll stop an' pick up some pizza on the way back."

"Good; just don't forget my meat-free one, 'kay?"

* * *

The man roughly pulled the collar of his shirt together as he continued to button up, his hazel eyes fixed on the mirror inside the door of his locker. He tucked the navy blue material into his black work trousers before grabbing the keys for the prison out of his locker and hooking them onto his belt, followed by the Taser that was standard for any of the staff who helped keep the jail running, should one of the housed criminals try something. The man hesitated a moment, before reaching for the navy jumper to his uniform, pulling it over his polo-shirt and rolling the sleeves up to his elbows.

He closed the locker and turned around, frowning slightly at the blonde man who walked into the locker room.

"Thought you would have been on your way home already?"

"So did I." The man grinned. "Boss wants to see you in his office."

"Can't it wait? I've already received a call from the kitchens. Someone's tried to tamper with the gas valves. Again."

"Sorry Mark; two of the Titans are down regarding room 270, an' you covered that on your last shift. It's nothin' to worry about. It's general protocol for at least one of them to come down after there's been a break out and check over the systems and stuff."

"Yeah? So which two is it?"

"Cyborg an' the ... what's-her-name. Raven." The man nodded after a bit of thought. "You'll get more conversation out of Cyborg than you will Raven, that's for sure. She kinda scares me. But then she scares most of the scum in this joint, so it ain't that surprising." He moved over to his locker, entering his code before pulling the door open. "I can handle the kitchen for you. And, well, any other job while you're busy with them Titans."

"I owe you one." Mark told the blonde. "Guess I'd better get movin' then. Man, the people you meet with this job."

"You aint seen nothing yet, newbie. Give it a few years, and you'll have plenty of stories to tell."

"Not sure I want them." He forced a smile at his co-worker, before leaving the room and heading towards the nearest staircase, taking two steps at a time as he rushed to the second floor.

All the offices, storage rooms, and documents were kept on the second floor. Most of the holding cells were on the ground floor along with the kitchens and prisoners' bathrooms. A few select inmates were held on the first floor, along with staffrooms and staff kitchens, the layout being designed for the safety of the staff, should a prisoner break loose.

Reaching the top of the stairs, Mark used his keycard to get on the second floor, walking past a number of closed doors until he reached the door labelled 'Technicians Office', the three signs underneath listing off the names of the area's top three bosses.

Alan Mayfield was on shift today, sitting behind the desk, conversing with the Titan Cyborg when Mark entered the room, instantly gaining everyone's attention.

"Titans, this is Mark. He would have been covering his shift between the times you mentioned." The greying man introduced the technician.

Cyborg leaned forward to shake the man's hand. "I don't think I've seen you working here before."

"He's our newest member of the team." Alan spoke up as Mark offered his hand to the empath, letting it drop and forcing a smile instead when Raven didn't so much as blink, ignoring the gesture. "He's been working with the prison for a few weeks now. Transferred from a jail in Louisiana."

"Slightly smaller than this place, and we didn't have quite so many meta inmates." Mark added.

"So, working with the kinda technology used to contain Plasmus must be a new experience for you?" Cyborg asked.

"The tank in room 270? Yeah; I got all the proper training when I first got here, but I'd never dealt with anything like it before."

"You know how it goes, Alan." The Robotic Titan smiled at the man behind the desk. "Mind if we go take a look?"

"Go ahead; maybe you can find something we can't. Mark, mind going with them?"

The man shook his head, glancing at Raven before motioning for them to step out of the office.

"You entered the room early this morning, right?" Cyborg asked as the door shut behind them. "It would have been before the shift change."

"Right. Standard checks of the container are carried out twice a day. It's wired up to trigger an alarm should something go wrong; the check-ups are just precautionary."

"So you what, go through the controls and check all the systems are online and in the right settings?"

Mark nodded. "Exactly. We also quickly check over the pipes and stuff; make sure there are no leaks or blockages."

"And when you checked them this morning?"

"Everthin' was as it should be. All systems were on, everything was … perfect."

"And you didn't change anything?" Raven spoke up.

The technician glanced at the empath over his shoulder. "Of course not!"

"Don't worry Mark; standard questions an' all that. We have to cover all the bases. Were you on shift when Plasmus escaped?"

"No. My shift ended at 6am. I'm only just back on."

"Who covered the day shift?"

"Dean. He's still here."

Cyborg nodded. "Take us to where you're holding Plasmus. Then can you send the guy our way? Got a few questions for 'im."

"Sure."

* * *

"He was lying." Raven muttered as soon as they were in the T-Car.

"Who?"

"Mark."

"How do you-"

"His emotions were fluctuating too quickly. He was uncomfortable and anxious while talking to us."

"Right. Empath." Cyborg reminded himself as he put the car into gear. "You think he let Plasmus out?"

Raven nodded slowly. "I can't be certain, but he definitely knows something about it."

"I'll see if I can pull any info up on him back at the tower. Alan gave me a list of all the current technicians. The only other people who'd have a key to that room are the prison guards.

"Cyborg, he was the last person to enter that room; if someone else had messed with the controls he would have noticed and put everything back to how it should be. It has to be him."

"I'm not sayin' it isn't." The robotic man told her. "You've been seemin' really stressed out recently. Everythin' okay?"

"Everything's fine."

"'Cause you know you can tell me anythin', right?"

She looked at her friend, only years of practice letting her hide how guilty she felt, offering him a small smile instead. "I know, Cyborg. The only thing bothering me is how stir crazy Beast Boy is at the moment. Jinx should have broken his _jaw_, not his arm."

He laughed at the harsh comment, moving his eyes back to the road in front. "Least he's tryin' to be helpful now."

"Hmm. That is a first. Don't forget you offered to pick up dinner."

"I know." He grinned. "Where do you think I'm goin'?"

"The long way round, apparently." Raven replied drily.

"… I thought we'd take the scenic route." Cyborg retorted, chuckling as he glanced at Raven, noticing the smile of amusement creeping on her face. "What would we do without yah?"

"Crash and burn, probably. Or at least go hungry."

"Which is possibly the most ironic thing I think you've said, considering your cooking skills could, well, do with some working on."

"That's a slight understatement."

* * *

"Being able to control how strong your hex bolts are is one thing, but it's useless unless you can figure out exactly how much damage your enemy can take. I can't believe I'm going to use these examples but-" She motioned towards herself. "-as you know, I can take your best shot without it leaving any lasting damage. I would be out of the fight for a few minutes, but that's all. Robin, however, couldn't take a hit like that, not without sustaining serious injuries or worse."

"An' I'm meant to judge this how?" Jinx frowned at the empath, tugging on the drawstrings of her black hoodie.

"You can do it in two ways. The first is to slowly increase the amount of power you put behind each attack. The second, which is somewhat harder to grasp at the start, is to analyse your ability and compare it with someone on your team. Mammoth, for example. By working out how much energy you need to feed your attack to deliver the same amount of damage as one of Mammoth's basic attacks, you can watch how your opponent reacts to his basic attack, and add to or take from your own hex accordingly."

"Yeah … I'm gonna go for the first method, considerin' I don't have a clue what you just said."

"You'll probably pick it up in your own time as you before better accustomed to using the amulet." Raven shrugged.

"Let me guess; you decide how hard to hit someone the same way?"

"I do." She nodded.

"Okay … but we already have one little problem regardin' that. We already know your limit is way above anythin' I can dish out. How am I meant to practice with this one?"

Raven frowned slightly. "You're not – not yet. We'll start looking at your aim … and well, sooner or later you're just going to have to wear it during one of your heists."

Jinx's eyes widened slightly. "But what if, I mean if it didn't go to plan?"

"I'll be there for damage control." She smiled slightly. "Either to block your attack, or heal whatever damage it does."

"Heal? You can _heal _people?"

Raven let her hands glow with a soft blue light for a moment, before dropping them back onto her lap. "There is a limit to what I can heal – hence why Beast Boy is still out of action, but yes."

"Okay, so what happens if the Titans kick you out before that?"

"We'll just have to make sure you have a good amount of control before you use the amulet in an actual fight." The empath shrugged, standing up and dusting the dirt off her jeans. "Let's get a start on your aim, then. I'm going to teleport around this clearing. You need to try and hit me with a controlled blast, and by controlled I don't mean the strongest hex you can throw at me."

"Come on Rae – there is _no _way I can do that."

"Perhaps, not yet. But with practice …"

"Yeah, like a billion years of practice."

"What are you, allergic to learning?"

"Giz's the A* student, not me."

"You really don't understand, do you?" Raven sighed. "Amulet or not, you have the potential to have so much more control over your hex energy than you think you do."

"… Your point bein'?"

"Don't you want to learn how to use your abilities more efficiently?"

Jinx shrugged. "I'm not exactly a control freak, am I?"

"You lead a team of super villains; it's kind of in the job description."

Jinx laughed slightly. "Okay, so maybe I do like to be in control. Guess I just like the way my powers work now. Old habits and all that shit."

"You said there was no way you could do that the first time. You said nothing about not _wanting _to." The empath smiled slightly at her girlfriend. "If you're worried that you won't be able to do it, you don't need to be, Jinx. You're more than capable."

"I never said that." Jinx huffed, crossing her arms.

"You didn't need to. Compared to controlling the amount of energy going into a hex, aiming should be easy."

"Yeah … but you're askin' me to do both. At the same time."

"I'm not expecting you to get it perfect the first few times, honey."

Jinx broke out into a grin. "Never would'a guessed you were the _endearing _nickname type."

The empath cleared her throat, frowning slightly as a blush spread across her cheeks. "Slip of the tongue." She muttered. "Stop changing the subject."

"I think it's cute." The meta human replied, still grinning.

"_Jinx_."

"Okay, okay. Fine. I'll give it a go. Just don' expect anythin' spectacular."

* * *

**The more artistic side to Muse has decided to rear it's head, and since I've got two 5foot canvases to paint, well I apologize in advance for any delayed updates.**

**Oh, and thanks to Concolor for going through this for me :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Mail call! **_Thank to everyone who's left a review at some point; I really do enjoy reading them._

**nada129: **LOL a slip of the tongue I don't think so ravens going soft I love to see jinx and raven interact it's like a tennis match. Great chapter I look foreword to your next update :)

_Haha I think she is too :P Glad you liked_

**Spikesagitta: **Hmm, wonder how important that jailbreak informing that technian be?  
And with Jinx's power, she could be so much more powerful. I mean bad luck powers? Probably even trying to hit her involved chance. Probably.

_Hmm… You'll find out later on in the story. And she could, potentially. I mean, isn't everything down to chance and probability?_

**Concolor44: **You are EXTREMELY welcome! Any time, really!  
The whole Plasmus angle has me intrigued. The team went over some of the same scenarios that occurred to me (and Raven's logic is, as usual, impeccable). Historically, he's been used by The Sinister Element as a sort of "blunt weapon", a dulled axe as it were, to create mayhem while something else goes on under the radar. And that Mark guy is troubling. I need to know who he's working for (no, I don't think he has the cranial horsepower to do it himself).  
You capture Raven's Snide Side very well. "Crash and burn, probably. Or at least go hungry." Nice.  
Jinx doesn't seem nearly as interested as Raven is in learning how better to control her abilities. That's both surprising and frustrating. I mean, after all, she had the amulet stolen in the first place! Use the damn thing, girl!  
Loved that little "slip of the tongue" there, Rae! Maybe Jinx will slip YOU some tongue later.  
On tenterhooks waiting for the next installment!

_Hmm, not to mention Slade and Terra used him that time as a sort of distraction. It's kinda like playing an instrument I guess. All fun and games until you have to start practicing for your grading. Things like that are much more entertaining when you can do it instantly the moment you pick them up! Ahah!_

**Angelic Toaster: **Once again, I love the chapter! More soon please!

_Glad you're enjoying!_

**Silently Watches: **And we get ANOTHER enemy thrown in. Just, please tell me he's with one of villains that have already been brought up. If he's not, I'm going to need a freaking flowchart to keep track of who's with whom against whom! : )  
I did love the Rae/Jinx fluff. Jinx has no worry about hitting Raven, but she doesn't want to risk it, how sweet.  
Go get your paintings out of the way, girl.  
Silently Watches out.

_Yup! And… he's not. Sorry xD Glad you liked haha, though I don't think it's envolved enough to be called fluff. Yeah I have up. I hate painting flesh. And there is a LOT of flesh on this painting. _

**Sephiroth owns u all: **Awesome Story Please Continue

_Glad you like! _

**I'm a Lover not a Hater: **Loved the small sweet savored fluffy love action at the end.

_Ahah glad you did._

**OMAC001: **I love this story. Is the new Brother Blood going to be like he was in the comics? Also I think you should stop posting the reviews. No offense, but they take up half the pages.

_Ahah, I'm thinkin' about it xD Hmm, I am aware they take up a lot of space (half the pages is an exaggeration though) however I do know some of my readers like to read the reviews – it's also a way for me to reply to people who don't sign in/have an account. I highly value any review I receive, so I like to make sure I reply to them all. Obviously when I started this, I didn't have that many reviewers_

**Turknac: **This is pure awesome. I never thought I'd like the Rae/Jinx pairing, since I'm a hardcore Rae/Star shipper, but here I am, completely sucked into your story. Can't wait 'til the next chapter comes out. Until it does, I'll probably sit here and twiddle my thumbs. Which is surprisingly entertaining.

_Thank you! Ahah you can ship more than one pairing! For example, I ship BB/Rae too. And Rae/Red X… Star/Rob… you get the idea. But anyway, I'm glad you're enjoying!_

**Juniper Night: **' You'll probably pick it up in your own time as you before better accustomed to using the amulet ' other than that, awesome! Sorry I didn't see it till just now, missed the update :] update soon-ish (you know, as soon as your painting's done)  
Juniper

_Ah, oop xD Ahah, that's alright. Glad you like it!_

**TheUtsukushiiYume: **Can't wait til the next chapter!

_Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long!_

**Dak Hamee: **Lololol honey XD priceless

_Ahah. Kinda hard to imagine Raven saying something like that, isn't it xD_

* * *

"He's got nothin'. According to all the files I could find on the guy, he's completely clean. Wouldn't expect the prison to hire him otherwise, but …" Cyborg ran his hand over the top of his head, dropping the file he'd been holding on the table in front of Robin.

"But … ?"

"I think Raven's right. Something's off about the whole thing, an' something's off about this Mark guy."

"Is it a full file?"

"Birth records, three schools, parents' ID … He's got, what? Two speeding tickets, but that's about it. Even searched the databases on his previous places of employment and education. Everything checked out."

"His parents?"

"His mother died several years ago. Father's living up in Montana – retired surgeon." Cyborg sat down next to his leader. "He's just your average John Smith."

"So then why change his tune now?"

"He's gotta be getting something out of it." The robotic titan shrugged.

"Any chance he'd been forced into doing it?"

"Blackmail? Maybe. I checked it by Raven though; if someone was controlling him, as in mind control, she would have felt it. And the guy was nervous, but nothing like how someone might be if it _had _been some form of blackmail and he'd been told to keep his mouth shut."

"I'll get in touch with the police and get details on all the robberies that happened that day. If it _**was**_ a distraction, we need to know what it was they were after. It might give us some sort of clue as to what we're dealing with."

"You think maybe … Slade's back?" Cyborg asked uncertainly.

"Do you?"

"Man, I'm not sure what to think."

"And until we know, I think we should make it a priority. The Justice League still has members looking at the amulet robbery – we need to focus on what's happening in our city right now."

"About that; did they figure out what was up with the security tapes?"

"They're still looking. If they know anything, they didn't share." Robin sighed, his frustration clear.

"They would, right? You know, if they found something?"

"Right now, I'm not sure. Going back to Plasmus: Raven thinks this … technician is involved. She come up with any other theory? Say anything about why she thinks Plasmus was released?"

"Why don't you ask her?"

"Because last time I saw her, she was on the roof, meditating. You know how … cranky she gets when you interrupt her without having a good reason."

"Yeah. She ran an idea over with me and BB. Something about Plasmus not being used as a distraction for a robbery, but for observation; if someone wanted to observe how we fight or something."

"Beast Boy did mention something about that. What do you think?"

"I think it's plausible. Damn, anything she says is plausible. She's like Spock … just with a darker sense of humour."

"She got any idea on who?"

"Nope." Cyborg offered his friend a smile. "So what's our next angle?"

Robin picked up the file on the table, leafing through its content. "Stake out. We follow this guy. If he's working for someone, he'll be keeping some form of contact with them. If he's behind it on his own … well that should become obvious sooner or later."

"So, we're gonna … stalk this guy?"

"At the moment, he's our only possible lead."

"So, who's doing the stalking?"

"I'll cover it with Raven. We're … best suited for the job. I'd usually say Beast Boy too, since he could literally be a fly on the wall, but he's off duty."

"You sure? I mean, I can put my holo ring on; follow 'im in one of the civi cars?" Cyborg suggested.

"Raven and I have a better chance of going unseen." Robin shook his head. "If he figures out he's being followed, we could lose any possible evidence against him, or he could erase himself off the map. While we currently have nothing to be too alarmed about … I don't want to run the risk of missing something. If we do have a major player in town, we don't want to give them an advantage when we could have made the first move."

Cyborg shook his head, laughing slightly. "Man, Rae gets a _hunch _and everyone kicks into high gear. Are we really that paranoid?"

"Has she been wrong before?"

They exchanged a knowing glance before Cyborg said, "So, when are you starting the stalking?"

"Tomorrow night. Once we know where he's staying, it'll be easier to keep track of him."

"Rob, his address is in the file."

"That doesn't necessarily mean it's his only … 'base' in the city. I'll have Raven stationed at that address tomorrow night, but I'll follow him on his way back from his shift at the jail just in case."

"I'm not sure this guy's anything more than a lackey, you know?"

"That doesn't stop him from being based in more than one area." Robin replied. "Especially if he's reporting to someone."

"I guess."

The leader of the Titans stood up. "I'll get in contact with the Commissioner."

"Think we should let someone at the jail know one of their staff members is under investigation?"

"No. We don't want to give him a reason to make a run for it. Or alert anyone else, for that matter."

* * *

Robin checked his communicator for the time as he shifted his weight onto his other foot, turning the R-Cycle's engine on but keeping the lights off as he waited for his target to leave the jail. He knew what he was looking for – a silver Honda Civic with the number plate '4F710818'. It was a pretty common car; something that would easily blend in, especially in the busier areas of the city. Once he'd found it, he'd have to work hard not to lose it in all the traffic, while working to remain unseen.

A car passed by and he tensed, ready to take off after it when he caught sight of the back number plate … but it was not the number plate he was after. Relaxing back into the seat, he flexed his hands, masked eyes going back to studying the road. The first night was crucial; once they had made certain the address in Cyborg's file was the man's main place of residence, they could start focusing on other aspects of his life – who he socialised with and the places he made a habit of visiting, so the team could get a better understanding of what type of man they were dealing with.

Another car passed by, and he put his bike into gear as he straightened up, his eyes scanning the car's back number plate. Smiling to himself, he pulled out onto the road, lights still off, and followed the car, carefully keeping his distance. Robin picked up his speed once they exited left off the side road and onto the main road to reduce the chance of anyone overtaking him as he tailed the car in front.

Robin flinched slightly as a car going the other way flashed him; probably someone 'thoughtful' enough to warn the man he hadn't turned his lights on.

"This might be harder than I thought."

* * *

The empath tapped the heel of her boot against the building's wall as she stared at the dark street below her from her seat on the roof of the apartment block that matched their target's home address. She wasn't sure how long she'd been sat there, but it had definitely been a while now.

Propping her elbows against her legs, she rested her chin on her hands, half wishing she'd had the incentive to bring a book along with her, when she heard something beep at her. Raven's first thought was that someone was trying to contact her through her communicator, but when she unhooked it from her belt and flipped it open, the screen remained black.

Frowning slightly, she hooked the device back onto her belt before unbuttoning the small pocket on the lining of her cloak, pulling out the cell phone she'd kept since her undercover mission for a way of keeping in touch with Jinx, opening the text message she apparently had.

_Hey Rae. Wat u up to? Xxx_

Raven sighed, glancing back to the road beneath her as she heard a car pass before replying.

_Working. Go away Jinx._

She had started to put the phone back in her cloak pocket when it beeped at her again. Groaning quietly in irritation she pulled the mobile back in front of her to read the text.

_U stopped in the middle of a fight to read a txt?_

"No, stupid." Raven muttered to herself as she typed a reply.

_Work doesn't necessarily mean a fight. You're not THAT important. And do you really have to use abbreviations?_

This time she kept the phone out, resting it on one leg as she waited for the meta-human to reply. Raven knew she should just ignore the texts. She also knew Jinx would keep sending her messages until she replied. She didn't admit to herself that texting Jinx solved her problem of not having thought to bring a book along for the stake-out. Her eyes followed another car down the street, then the pedestrian that entered the building opposite her before the phone bleeped once again.

_Wow. Thanx. Nice to hear u care. Its called txt type. And yeh, I do. Its easier. Wen you finish 'work'?_

_Why?_

Raven stared suspiciously at her phone, the reply coming no more than a few seconds later.

_No reason (:_

_Then leave me alone before you get me into trouble._

Raven slipped the phone back into her pocket moments before she saw a silver car drive down the road and turn into the building's car park. Glancing down the street, her eyes easily picked up Robin on his R-Cycle, parked against the curb, the vehicle's lights still off. She teleported over to him, appearing out of the sidewalk next to her leader.

"Did he make any side trips?"

The empath could feel his shock, and gave him points for managing to turn calmly to look at her, rather than startling. "No. He came straight here from the prison. Want a lift back to the tower?"

Raven eyed the R-Cycle apprehensively, before shaking her head. "It's _safer _to fly back."

He grinned at her as he put the bike into gear and revved the engine. "I'll see you back at the tower then."

She watched him take off, switching the bike's lights on as he reached the end of the road, taking the turn without slowing down.

* * *

Raven smiled slightly as she exited the stairwell onto the roof of the tower, a cup of tea in one hand. Since the defeat of her father, Raven found she didn't need to meditate daily in order to control her powers, but she still found it a pleasant pastime. Moving to the edge of the tower overlooking the Jump City bay, she set her cup down before sitting into the lotus position, levitating several inches off the roof.

She blocked out all of the noises going on around her as she slowly entered her subconscious, where her emoticlones were gathered. Without her meditation mirror it could take her hours to reach such a deep state of meditation, and tonight was no exception, though Nevermore wasn't her goal today.

Quietly muttering her mantra, she didn't see, hear or sense the thief as she pulled herself – with quite a bit of effort – onto the roof, not far from where Raven was sat on a cushion of air. Standing up and straightening out her clothes, Jinx pocketed the gadgets she'd 'borrowed' from her team mate Gizmo, smiling as her pink eyes caught sight of the empath.

"Well, that makes my life a _lot _easier." She muttered to herself as she approached the titan, tapping her on the shoulder.

Raven dropped out of the air as her shock made her lose concentration, hitting the tower in an ungraceful pile of blue cloth. She sat up, watching the meta human as she laughed at the bewildered Titan.

"_Jinx_?"

"Actually, I kinda feel more like Aladdin at the moment. Sorry I'm short on magic carpets." Raven raised her brow at the woman, and she laughed again. "What? You never watched the Disney film?"

"Jinx, what on earth are you doing here? And how the hell did you scale the tower?"

"I came to see you, _duh_. I ah … borrowed some of Giz's gadgets." She pulled two disk-like objects out of her pocket to show the woman. "Real cool. Lets you scale stuff like a gecko. Of course they're still kinda in the proto-type stage, an' I didn't take my body weight into consideration. It was _not _easy. Fun though."

"I can't believe you!" Raven shook her head as she got to her feet.

"I know; if I knew you were gonna be on the roof, I wouldn't've brought these with me." The meta human reached into another pocket and pulled out several lock pick tools.

"You were going to attempt to break into the tower?" Raven asked sceptically.

"What? I bet I could."

"You are going to get me into serious trouble."

"Relax. I have luck on my side, remember? No one's gonna know I was here." She pushed on Raven's shoulders, forcing the woman to sit down again before she sat next to her, putting her arm behind Raven and round the woman's waist as she rested her head on the Titan's shoulder. "You guys 'ave got a nice view from out here. So, what job were you workin' on earlier?"

"Why would I tell you?"

"Because … I'm your girlfriend, an' I asked?"

"It's something to do with the local jail, and that's all you need to know. Now seriously, why are you here?"

"I already told you. I came here to see you. Your texts earlier were less than reasonable, hence the random appearance."

"You are crazy." Raven shook her head, unable to stop her lips from tugging up into a smile.

"I'm spontaneous; there's a difference." Jinx replied.

"Uhuh. If you say so."

"I do say so."

"Don't you have a bank to rob or something?"

"You're in a bit of a mood today." Jinx sat up so she could look at the empath, only then seeing the woman's smile. "You should be flattered."

"Flattered that you're increasing our chances of being discovered?"

"You're just jelly that I've got more balls than you."

"There's a difference between bravery and stupidity." Raven muttered, still smiling as she watched the thief.

"Wow. You're just full of compliments today, aint'cha?"

"Why, were you expecting something else?"

"So that uh … endearment the other day was just a one-off, huh?" Jinx grinned.

"You're not going to let that go, are you?" Raven groaned, resisting the urge to hit the meta human round the back of her head.

"Can you blame me? The big, scary, stoic superhero is softening up. So, now I'm already here … how 'bout we go inside?"

"Even if the tower wasn't full of security cameras and identity scanners, I still wouldn't invite you in." The empath frowned. "We use the apartment you so conveniently have because it is a neutral area. There is no way I'm going to give you a chance to get information you could use against the team."

"You obviously think so much of me." The meta human rolled her eyes. "What if I promise not to try anythin'?"

"You think I'm going to believe the word of a thief?"

"Nope. How about the word of your girlfriend?"

"The answer's still no."

"Aw, come on! Fine; why not just teleport us straight to your room or somethin'? It's not like you wouldn't notice if I randomly wandered off."

"Jinx, I am not having you inside the tower." The empath replied sternly.

The villainess all but sat on Raven's lap, despite the fact that it meant she was perilously close to falling off the roof of the tower. "Please?"

"Seriously, what _is _this? No!"

"You know, I thought this would be easier considerin' you're on the roof and not in the tower." Getting to her feet, the meta human walked towards the door leaning into the tower. "Apparently doing it myself is gonna be easier."

Reaching for the door, she wasn't surprised to find it unlocked. She was, however, surprised to find Raven stood on the other side, her arms folded and brow raised at the woman.

Jinx glanced back to where Raven should have been sat, before looking back at the empath. "Hi."

"I'm not letting you go inside the tower."

"Yes, we established that. Why do yah think I'm letting myself in?"

"I'm not letting you do that either."

"Oh come on! Just once! You've been into our base!"

"So have you, if you remember."

"Dude, that was _years _ago. It don't count." Jinx shook her head. "Look, I'm not gonna pull a Raven and steal anything. Give me some credit."

The empath's eyes narrowed slightly as she watched the pink haired woman. "Fine. But you are not putting one foot outside my room. If Beast Boy picked up your scent …"

"You'll be in deep shit. Okay, I get it. You think the boys didn't grill me when they realised I'd accidently let a Titan into our base? Chill."

"This is such a _bad _idea." Raven muttered, sighing slightly.

"I got that too, just, like, teleport us already. The sooner you do it, the sooner it's over with, because I _hate _it when you drag me places like that."

The empath shook her head as she called upon her soul self, eyes momentarily filling with a white light as dark energy stretched out from her to the meta human, the strange substance also covering the floor underneath them, forming a portal. Jinx closed her eyes, doing her best to ignore the stinging cold feeling as they both sank into the portal, not opening her eyes until she was sure they'd arrived at their destination.

"Do _**not **_touch the hand mirror on my vanity stand, nor the chest in the far corner in my room. If you're going to look through my books, _don't _damage them, and don't read anything out loud unless you're sure of what you're reading." Jinx turned to watch Raven walk over to her door as she spoke, checking it was locked before looking at the meta human. "Also, please refrain from going near my supplies on the shelves. Some of the things there are rare and/or expensive and hard to replace. In fact, I'd prefer it if you refrained from touching anything."

"What's so special about a hand mirror and a chest?" Jinx frowned.

"They both involve very powerful magic I do not want you messing with."

"Okay … I'll ah, try to remember all that."

"I know I might as well try and teach a rock tricks for all the good it's going to do you, but I am setting down some rules for a reason."

"Oh come on; I'm not _that _bad."

"You have a habit of going _against _the rules." Raven smiled slightly. "You're going to end up doing something I told you not to, and let's not pretend otherwise."

"What's in the chest?" The meta human moved to sit on the edge of Raven's circular bed. She watched the empath's gaze move to the object in question.

"Nothing good. I would have gotten rid of it a few years ago, but it wasn't safe to do so."

"Nice cryptic answer. You're not gonna tell me, are you?"

"Might as well. It's going to be coming with me when I get kicked out of the tower. Would you believe me if I said it's a Dragon trapped within a book?"

"A _what_?" Jinx looked at the chest with wide eyes, before looking back at Raven. "You mean an actual mother fuckin' _Dragon_? Like the real deal?"

"No, I mean a stuffed toy I won at the amusement park." The empath replied, her voice thick with sarcasm. "Yes, a real Dragon."

"Where the _fuck _did you pick that up?"

"A second hand book store, actually. I tried to find out how it had gotten there, but I couldn't find any leads. Obviously I didn't know it was a cursed book when I bought it."

"It'd be pointless to ask if I could have a look, wouldn't it?"

Raven nodded. "The chest is heavily warded, so it'd also be pointless to try and get into it when I'm not looking."

"And the mirror?"

"It's … a meditation tool, and let's just leave it at that. In fact …" Raven walked over to her vanity table and picked the ornate hand mirror up, before opening the bottom draw and carefully placing it inside before closing the door. "If you're going to do _something _I told you not to, I'd prefer you went messing with the chest rather than with the mirror."

"Why?"

"Because at least if you somehow manage to let Malchior out, which I would highly doubt, apart from the fact that you have a tendency to screw things up, I can easily rectify that with the same curse that trapped him in the book in the first place."

"Malchior? So the Dragon has a name?"

"Contrary to popular belief, Dragons can talk, and are very … intelligent, if the rest were like him."

"Were?"

Raven shrugged. "From what I could gather, he'd been trapped in that book for a couple of centuries, unless it's from another dimension and somehow ended up here, which might be likely."

"Man, your room is loaded with stuff just begging to be messed with. If I'd know all that when me an' the boys managed to kick your asses out of here, I would 'ave done more snooping."

"It's _part _of the reason why I didn't want you in here to begin with." The empath muttered.

Jinx grinned. "I'll try not to go messin' with anythin', 'kay?" She motioned Raven to come over, kicking off her boots before she climbed onto the bed and scooted back, sitting on her knees, patting the edge of the bed. "Sit down. You're lookin' so tense it's making _my _muscles hurt. That's … probably my fault."

Raven frowned slightly at the meta human but walked over anyway, Jinx making the empath sit so she was facing the door, before unclasping Raven's cloak and removing it from her shoulders. She began to lightly massage the tense flesh, slowly making her way towards her spine.

Raven's eyes fluttered shut as she murmured, "That feels nice."

"That's cause it's meant to." The meta human teased, pausing to move strands of Raven's purple hair out the of way, before moving her hands farther down the empath's back.


	6. Chapter 6

**Reviews:**

**Spikesagitta: **_Ahah she is, isn't she? Well, Cyborg did say (quote) "_Even searched the databases on his previous places of employment and education. Everything checked out." _(end quote) Maybe it's not official variation with his previous places of employment, but true – I mean, if it was professionally filled out and someone had managed to plant it onto the computer systems of his previous employment… well, I suppose they could do better by calling in and checking._

**I'm a Lover not a Hater: **_Ahah, those few words are more than enough. I'm glad you're enjoying!_

**nada129: **_Ahah! Poor Raven? Or lucky Raven :P Glad you liked it!_

** : **_Glad you thought so!_

**Korraganitar the NightShadow: **_And well, some more fluff to come in this chapter (even if it is hinted with lemon) I think you're right there – Raven would make an excellent thief._

**Concolor44: **_Ahah! He is a bit of a shady character… Yeah, I think that's gonna hit all the team pretty hard. It was bad enough having Beast Boy inside her mind… Just thinking about the… possible damage Jinx could do… well… And yes, I need to write more fluffy stuff. But then, I think there shall be much more over the next few chapters._

**Juniper Night: **_Ahah. I had to make a Disney reference at some point in one of my stories xD. Actually, I was listening to the Aladdin soundtrack and the song "One jump ahead" just screamed 'Jinx'. Ugh. Rock climbing. I love sport. All forms of sport. But I can't seem to get to grips with rock climbing, and I have tried oh so many times. I will prevail, one day! (hah, she says)_

**Angelic Toaster: **_Just a little bit :P_

**Silently Watches: **_Ahah! Yeah, just about. Got to say, if anyone's going to complain about it, it would be Raven. Hmm, true. Though I suppose Jinx didn't mean any harm by the comment. She is indeed. And because Rae is VERY lucky haha._

**KingTiger999: **_Ignored xD Glad you are! Oooh! Well, hopefully I can keep that rating throughout, aye? _

**Discb:**_Glad you like!_

**Dak Hamee: **_I intend too haha. Glad you're enjoying!_

**Decoy:** _And I don't think it'll be long before things do get heated! _

**Stormplains: **_Yup. It can't be far off now before things start to fall apart._

* * *

**A/N:**** The rating has risen to 'M' since parts of this chapter really pushed at the 'T' boundaries. Thanks for all the feedback/reviews guys, and sorry it's taken me so long to get this chapter written. Not only did I keep going over it and re-writing bits, I've spent two days solid at my town's Pride event. It's hard to keep up with your writing when you're spending most of your day in the Burlesque, Drag Queens and Circus tents xD (as much as I love Rae and Jinx, front row seats dudes!)**

**As always, thanks for going through this for me Concolor! **

* * *

Jinx shifted slightly as she woke up to find her left arm had gone numb, the limb firmly sandwiched between her body and the mattress beneath her. Frowning when she realised there was a light on in the room, her opened her eyes, having to blink several times before she could see Raven against the harsh glare of the lamp that sat on the bedside table, sat up and leaning against the headboard, a book in her hands. Jinx stifled a yawn as she shuffled closer to the woman, resting her head on Raven's stomach, just above her hipbone, smiling slightly as the Titan moved one hand down to run her fingers through Jinx's candy cotton pink hair in a repetitive, almost absentminded motion.

"What time is it?" The meta human muttered softly as she slid her hand across the empath's stomach and began to lightly trace patterns across the grey skin with her fingertips.

She felt the Titan shift underneath her slightly, moving so she could see her clock, before she answered. "Almost four am. I need to take you back to your base, or at least out of the tower. Robin will be awake soon."

"Four?" Jinx frowned. "Then why're you readin'? Did you get any sleep?"

"What do you think? I was too concerned about the thief currently in the tower to even _think _about sleep," she retorted.

Jinx turned her head slightly and kissed the soft flesh of Raven's stomach. "I behaved, didn't I?" she asked, moving slightly and leaning her weight on one arm as she slowly trailed small kisses up Raven's stomach and over her ribs.

"Exactly. Since when did you ever do what you were told?" She shoved lightly on one of Jinx's shoulders. "Now seriously, I really do need to get you out of the tower."

Jinx didn't reply at first, putting all her weight on her supporting arm as she sat up, sliding her leg over Raven's as she straddled the woman's lap, flashing her a coy smile before she grabbed the book Raven was holding and put it on the bedside table. Leaning into her girlfriend, she kissed along the line of the Titan's jaw until she reached her ear.

"Luck's been on our side so far. A few more … minutes or so ain't gonna do any more damage."

"When I said Robin would be up soon, I didn't mean in an hour. I meant _soon_." Raven replied, resisting the shudder that tried to run through her body at the feel of Jinx's warm breath ghosting over her ear, though she let her hands explore the meta human's pale skin, smoothing across her subtle curves with just the right amount of pressure.

"No one gets up that early." Jinx muttered, slowly dragging her lips down across Raven's cheek, kissing the corner of her lips. "Besides, I miss those mornings when you didn't 'ave to rush off, worryin' about the Titans."

"Jinx …"

The thief pulled back and sat up a little straighter so she could look at Raven. "I know. The Titans knew what you were doin' – some of it anyway. An' hell, I didn't even know you were you, but whatever. That doesn't mean I still can't miss it."

Raven stared at the woman a moment, her hands coming to rest on Jinx's thin waist. She started to smile when Jinx attempted a puppy-eyed look. "_Fine_. But if you're still in the tower by half five, we're going to have a serious problem."

Jinx offered the empath a small, genuine smile before she leaned forward and gently pressed her lips against Raven's. The Titan weaved one of her hands into the mass of Jinx's thick hair as she deepened the kiss, the hand still on the meta human's waist sliding round to her back before she pulled Jinx closer to her, not wanting an inch of space to remain between them.

Jinx moved her hands to Raven's shoulders and she pushed the empath back against the headboard, holding her there as she moved to kiss the grey skin of her neck, grazing it gently with her teeth, enjoying the way Raven's breathing hitched slightly in response. She ducked her head lower, tracing the outline of the woman's collar bone with the tip of her tongue, sliding her hands down from Raven's shoulders to gently brush past the outer-sides of the empath's generously sized breasts. Jinx let out a small, barely audible moan as Raven squirmed, unintentionally grinding against her.

She moved slightly, sliding one of her legs between Raven's as she continued to make her way lower down the Titan's body with gentle nips and kisses, enjoying the delicate and familiar taste of Raven's skin. The empath's fingers lightly traced across Jinx's back, the bones of her spine slightly too prominent beneath the stark white skin. With a slight frown she wondered, not for the first time, whether Jinx's thin form was due to genetics, or because her group wasn't exactly known for being successful with their robberies.

Jinx glanced up and spotted the small frown, sitting back as she mirrored it with one of her own. "Somethin' wrong?"

"No." Raven shook her head, shrugging slightly when she saw that the woman wasn't going to let it go without receiving a proper answer. "I was just thinking."

"If it wasn't about me, I'm gonna be seriously insulted." She grinned. "I obviously must be doin' _somethin' _wrong."

Raven smiled, but hesitated before replying, not too sure on what to say. "It's just … well I was wondering if your … weight is a genetic thing or …?"

"You're worrying if I don't get enough food? You _are _going soft." Jinx laughed slightly. She watched Raven's frown deepen until it was closer to a scowl than a look of concern. The meta human moved until she was once again straddling Raven's lap, her hands sliding behind the woman's neck as she offered the empath a smile. "I was always the skinny kid. I _know _I can rival Cy with how much I eat thanks to his time as Stone. Even if sometimes I do go a day or two without food, it don't make a difference. You happy now?"

"I never said I was _concerned_. I was just wondering." Raven muttered.

Jinx grinned. "Yeah, whatever. Just like calling me _honey _was a slip up."

She tried to look as though she was insulted by the comment, but she couldn't stop the corners of her lips from tugging up into a small smile. She opened her mouth, ready to protest, but the thief quickly leaned in and kissed her, keeping her from replying, and she didn't protest, eagerly responding.

The room suddenly fill with the sound of klaxons, making the two women jump, Jinx's face dropping into a scowl as she moved off Raven. "Karma. That's what this is. Bad fucking karma."

"Well, you do have enough of it." Raven muttered, quickly sliding out of the bed and working on controlling her breathing as she moved over to her wardrobe, quickly pulling on clean underwear and a leotard before she reached to the back of the wardrobe for her spare cloak, well aware her other one would smell of Jinx. Silently muttering a prayer to Azar, she hoped Beast Boy hadn't bothered to leave his room before she turned to look at the meta human still sat on the bed, looking downright miserable as she watched the Titan.

"I don't have time to take you out of the tower right now, so please, for Azar's sake, stay here, and don't leave this room."

"Tell me what bad guy works at four in the fuckin' morning, and I'll go kick his ass myself." Jinx replied, making the empath smile. "I know; stay here, and don't mess with the shit you told me to leave alone. Just make it quick. Like, real quick. 'Kay?"

"You do realise you're leaving this building the moment I get back, don't you?"

"Not if I can do anythin' about it."

Raven shook her head slightly as she moved towards the door. "Just remember Beast Boy will still be in the tower."

"Chill, babe. I'll behave."

Raven gave the meta human a sceptical look before she left the room, making sure she locked the door behind her before making her way to the common room. She moved to join everyone else around the main computer, relieved when she couldn't see Beast Boy among them.

"So, who is it this time?"

"Dr. Light." Robin answered. "Who else would attack at the crack of dawn?"

Cyborg watched with amusement as the expression on his teammate's face darkened, glad he wasn't on the receiving end of that glare. "I know, right? Of all the bad guys that could wake us up, it _had _to be him."

* * *

Watching the door close behind the empath, Jinx stayed on the bed, staring at the door for a moment before she rolled off and searched the floor for her bra and matching undies, quickly pulling them on before she moved to stand in the middle of Raven's room and looked around her.

A white chest sat against one wall – the chest Raven had specifically told her not to touch – standing out like a sore thumb against the black walls, begging for the hex caster's attention. She dragged her pink eyes away from it and studied Raven's triangular bookshelf instead before she walked over, pulling out the first book that caught her eye, only to find it wasn't printed in English.

"What the _hell_?" She tilted the book to the side as though it would help her read it, before closing it and shoving it back on the shelf. She reached for another, only to find it once again wasn't English.

She flicked through a few pages, pausing when she caught sight of a black and white illustration. She ran her fingers across it, not entirely sure what she was looking at until she found one eye. Then several more. Frowning, she held the book out at arm's length, trying to figure out what the illustration was supposed to be of.

_I mean … it has eyes. It's gotta be a face of some sort, right?_

She continued through the pages, pausing to study a drawing of some symbol she didn't recognise before putting the book back in its place, and taking a step back. She ran her eyes over the spines of the many books in the hope of finding something written in English, smiling to herself when she caught sight of the works of Shakespeare sat on the bottom shelf next to several other works of fiction, their spines badly creased from having been re-read too many times. She'd known Raven was some sort of a book worm after her first time in the tower, when the H.I.V.E had managed to beat the team and kick them out of the tower, though she hadn't paid them much attention, not being much of a reader herself outside the odd fantasy novel.

Jinx bounded back into the centre of the room before she cast her eyes around again, this time landing on the blue cloak Raven had left on the floor, her eyes lighting up slightly. Walking over, she picked it up and pulled it around her shoulders, fastening the clasp before she moved to stand in front of the mirror. She pulled the hood up, taking a moment to study herself before quickly jumping into a fighting stance, arms raised as though she were getting ready to block an attack.

The heavy material fell down over her shoulders and the tops of her arms, effectively restricting her movement. She frowned at her reflection as she tried to throw all that blue material back over her shoulders, before she gave up and let her arms drop to her side.

"How does she fight in this thing?" Jinx muttered to herself, adjusting the hood slightly before she unclasped it and let it drop to the floor, her eyes dropping with it to the bottom drawer of the vanity stand.

She bent down and pulled it open, straightening up as she stared at the small hand mirror sat on top of a pile of neatly folded clothes, her head tilted slightly to one side. She glanced behind her at the chest, before she looked back to the mirror. Jinx kicked the drawer shut with her foot and went to the chest instead, crouching slightly to study the lock. It _looked _simple enough. Nothing she couldn't open herself. Then she recalled what Raven had told her last night.

'_The chest is heavily warded, so it'd also be pointless to try and get into it when I'm not looking'_

Jinx carefully reached out to poke the box, half expecting a force to throw her across the room. She smiled as her fingers brushed the painted wood, standing up and moving towards her clothes, digging through the pockets for her lock pick set before she went back to the chest.

She got the two slim tools into the lock easily, and fiddled around for a moment until she felt the lock start to turn, her small smile spreading into a grin.

_Wards my ass. You lying shit._

The lock clicked and she put her tools back into their little pouch before she tried to lift the lid up. The smile dropped from her face when it didn't so much as rattle, and she tugged again, this time a little harder.

"No."

She stood up and put all her strength into trying to lift the lid.

"No! _Why _would you _**do **_that! You bitch! That's false hope! That's not fair!" She ranted loudly as though the woman was stood in the room with her rather than off fighting.

She resisted the urge to kick the chest and looked back at Raven's collection of books, determined to find the one that the ward had come from so she could try and undo it. She'd started to cross the room when she first heard the faint noises of someone outside the door.

She froze for a moment, before the adrenaline kicked in, running as quickly and as silently as she could into Raven's en-suite, closing the door behind her. She heard the door to Raven's room open, but didn't hear anyone enter.

She closed her eyes and silently cursed when she remembered she'd left her clothes scattered across the empath's floor.

_Don't see them. Don't see them. Don't see them. For fuck's sake don't see them…_

* * *

Beast Boy stood and stared into his teammate's room, a slight frown creasing his brow. He could have sworn he'd heard something …

He started to step over the threshold, but paused. He didn't need Raven there to tell him that it was an _extremely _bad idea. If the empath found out he'd been in her room while she wasn't there, he would be a dead man. And he _really _didn't need to have another run in with her meditation mirror.

His forest green eyes scanned the dark room again. It looked messier than he'd ever seen it, and Beast Boy was more than slightly surprised to see clothes left on the dark blue carpet. The empath was known for being the neatest Titan in the tower, and often got on the changeling's case about how messy _he _was. Of course he'd never seen her room this early in the morning after the team had been woken up to deal with one of the city's super villains. The woman _was _neat, but that didn't mean it was automatic.

He backed up and let the door slide shut, his head cocked slightly to one side as he listened for a moment. He shrugged and turned, continuing on towards the common room, deciding it was just the early morning playing tricks on him, the frown being erased from his face and replaced by a large yawn. After all, he could hardly remember the last time he'd been up so early. He wasn't entirely sure why he _had _gotten up, when he didn't have to, although he had the feeling it was involved with the fact that he hadn't shifted in a while. He'd started feeling restless over the last day or two, more so than usual. Beast Boy didn't know if it was because he took animal form so regularly, or if it was something to do with the Beast, but he felt trapped, having to stay in his human form.

Once he reached the common room, Beast Boy headed straight for the fridge, pulling out a packet of tofu bacon, leaving it on the top as he searched through the cupboards for a frying pan. His head popped up over the kitchen counter as the main computer bleeped at him, alerting him to an incoming call.

"Who the hell is up this early?" He frowned, leaving the stuff for his breakfast as he moved towards the computer, accepting the call.

The changeling stiffened up as the line connected, and Batman appeared on the large screen.

_Why is Robin never here when the JL call in? _He silently complained as he watched Batman study him a moment before speaking.

"Beast Boy."

_Rae was right. Reeaally need to think about getting a new name._

"Your team is out?"

"Ermm, yeah. We received an alert. If you're after Robin, I don't think they'll be out much longer."

"I was hoping to get a chance to talk with him, but it'll have to wait. I'm sending over the video footage from the museum."

Beast Boy winced as the computer bleeped at him again, and he quickly created a new folder with an obvious file name before accepting the download and crossing his fingers. He wasn't exactly known for his ability to get things right the first time, and it was one thing messing up in front of his team mates. If he messed up in front of Batman … He didn't want the Justice League to peg them as amateurs.

"It's downloading."

Batman nodded slightly. "Inform Robin it's been sent, however it would be best to hold off on reviewing the tapes before the Flash and Martian Manhunter reach the tower."

"What?"

"They should be no later than 14:00 your time."

"Have you figured out who it is?"

There was a pause before he answered. "We … have our suspicions. However we would like to see what you make of it."

Beast Boy frowned, but didn't say anything, his eyes flickering down to watch the loading bar on the computer's monitor.

"No doubt I'll hear from you later."

The changeling looked up in time to see Robin's former mentor end the call. He checked that the video footage was still loading before he made his way back over to the kitchen.

* * *

Raven quickly threw up a shield, blocking the beam of bright yellow energy Dr. Light had aimed at her, her face a mask of annoyance. There was never a _good_ time to be fighting the washed out villain, but there was _definitely_ a _**bad**_ time, and even though she knew it was dangerous to linger on certain thoughts, all she could think about was crushing him; a seemingly more inviting idea than sending him to an alternate dimension, which was the second choice on her list.

"You seriously just don' get it, do you? We're gonna take you down every time." Cyborg used the opening to run round Raven, and charge at the distracted man, a blast from his sonic cannon hitting Dr. Light and forcing him to give up the attack on the empath.

Starfire dived down and picked Robin up before taking to the air again, carrying her leader until they were above Dr. Light. Robin dropped several of his disk-shaped devises around the man, and they exploded upon hitting the ground, the force of the blasts throwing Dr. Light backwards.

Raven quickly moved forward as the man hit the ground in an ungraceful heap, her eyes glowing white as smoky black chains seemed to rise up out of the road, binding the criminal's hands and ankles.

"Okay! I surrender!" Dr. Light panicked as he noticed the dark energy, trying to wriggle his way out of it. "I surrender!"

Starfire dropped her leader next to Dr. Light, and Raven used her hold on him to turn him over, forcing his arms behind his back while Robin pulled his police standard cuffs off his utility belt, crouching down next to the man as he secured his wrists, before getting back to his feet.

"Thanks, Raven."

It was his signal to her than she could let up, but she didn't, not straight away, her irritation still strong.

"Way to go, Rae!" Cyborg cheered as he put a hand on her shoulder. "Neat trick. Don't believe we've seen that one before."

At her teammate's touch, she dragged her eyes away from Dr. Light to look at Cyborg as she let the dark energy dissipate. She could feel Robin's eyes on her, but ignored him, offering Cyborg a small shrug before replying quietly, "It's a little overdramatic for our usual villains. Of course, they haven't all had the same experience he has." She smiled slightly, and he returned it.

"If a few flashy moves are all it takes to quickly end fights, I'm game. Maybe we should try it more often."

Robin dragged Dr. Light to his feet as Starfire landed next to her two teammates, a large smile on her face. "I am glad this fight did not take up too much time, despite Beast Boy's absence." She yawned, before continuing, "I think I may require a nap. Raven, you and Robin must be extremely tired after watching the prison technician until late. Perhaps I should make the traditional Tameranean dish for-"

"That's alright, Star." Raven quickly interrupted, to the relief of Cyborg. "You should probably try and get more sleep. It wouldn't do any harm – I doubt we'll get another call before lunch."


	7. Chapter 7

**For those who keep asking, Hunted, Nightmare, Black and White and any other ongoing story I haven't updated in a while are still active. I'm writing the next chapters for them, just slowly. I have nine days left until I leave England. I probably won't get any updates out during those nine days, however the plane does have wi-fi and I'll be flying for 17 hours; I'll probably at least get one chapter of something out during that time. Oh, and thank you Concolor44 for going through this :)**

**Reviews:**

**InsanitySorrow 2.0: **Oh boy, it doesn't sound good for our Dark Titan when you involved Batman in the equation. Unless Raven could find a way to explain what she doing or divert the situation from herself. Is this where Jinx come to save her? If it is, Jinx need to do it fast and as reasonable as possible cause nothing good come when JL come to town. And added the animosity between Raven and Zatanna in Canon Comic, worst just turn into Total Disaster.  
PS : I often read fic where Jinx has not so pleasant home life because of her power. Wonder if anyone ever created a fic where Jinx did have a good home life and supporting family watching her back before?

_It doesn't, does it. But then the Justice League (even Batman) understand priority. Ahah Jinx to the rescue? Hmm she might not need to at this point, but maybe later :P Urgh. Zatanna. I'm going to try to avoid putting her in this, because I have a very bias opinion on her, and I'm not sure it'd allow me to write her character correctly. Ahah me too, but recently I've been going over my idea of Jinx (looking at comic cannon and working out an animation background for her) and in this, while she didn't particularly have the BEST home life, she did have a supporting family. It might prop up in one of my other fics :)_

**Spikesagitta: **Uh oh. I'm pretty sure they found out Raven is the thief and the JL just send backup to apprehend Raven..

_Would see that way, wouldn't it?_

**Ly:** Nice chapter update! Glad to hear its a sequel from your previous story. Keep up the good work! Aww I will have a mood swing if Robin finds out Raven stole the amulet. That guy really needs a life XD

_Thanks :) Ahah I liked the previous story too much to just let it end where it did xD Ahah yeah, I don't think you'll be the only one._

**Mttmercado: **OH DEAR HOLLY GOLLY JEEEESUS!  
batman, not dumb, he smart, and footage, ohhh snap, hide jinx hide, or raven hide, 0_0 im so in to this

_HOLY ROLL ME OVER IN THE CLOVER BATMAN!_ _No that guy really isn't dumb, and I think both women should be running for the hills right now! _

**XxRin-sanxX: **I love the chapter! I can not believe Rae left Jinx in the tower! With Beast Boy! I see bad things happening in the future! But what about that video? Has Rae finally got caught? GASP! :O What about that creepy mirror of hers? Now that wouldn't be a good trip to take for Jinx, huh? I gotta wonder about what happens when they finally figure out in was Raven who stole it? Or that she let Jinx into the tower. Update fast!  
TTFN, Rin

_Glad you did! I know – what on earth was she thinking? :P here's that update. Sorry it was a bit slow getting here._

**nada129: **LOL it was getting good with jinx and raven and the damn alarm had to sound. I wonder what will show up on the tape. Great work on this chapter I love it when raven drags doctor light into her cloak lol you putting that made my day so keep it up and I look foreword to your next update

_Stupid Dr Light xD Glad you're enjoying the story :)_

**Stormplains: **Yeah right, the JL don't have suspicions. Especially not with Batman, they figure things out. Great chapter! I'm thrilled for things to go horribly wrong in the next chapter!  
Keep writing strong.

_They don't have suspitions. They know :o Or do they? :P Glad you liked. Hopefully this next chapter is horribly wrong enough for you :P_

**Korraganitar the NightShadow: **things are coming to a head! And btw, mixing fluff and lemons is perfectly ok in my book! Some of the best lemons on this site are so fluffy they could float in the sky!

_Yus they are! _

**Concolor44: **Jinx is QUITE the little distraction, isn't she? She gets her way entirely too often.  
So she was "always the skinny kid" was she? Eh. Makes sense. I've wondered.  
Damn it! Read through the bloomin' thing four times and STILL missed this:  
"The room suddenly fill with the sound of klaxons..." is supposed to be "The room suddenly filled with the sound of klaxons..."  
Crapcrapcrap.  
Ha! Jinx promised to behave. That's funny. I knew she was going to try to get into that chest. Too big a temptation.  
DAMN! You are the Mistress of Mounting Tension! I was really afraid BB was going to smell her.  
Ooooohhhhhhhhh ... boy. The Flash AND Martian Manhunter? Okay, they know Raven's involved. They have to, to be sending such heavy hitters. Eeek. The next chapter is going to be VERY INTENSE I predict.

_Ahah just a little bit. She does. Damn it Raven's just growing too soft. I've wondered too, I just decided – by comparing her body size in the animation to other characters – she's either a natural skinny or suffers from some sort of eating disorder, and I don't really see Jinx as someone who'd have something like that. She shows herself as way too confidant to have issues about her body. Ahah! I thought BB was going to as well. Apparently not._

**Angelic Toaster: **Cool. I wonder... are their suspicions towards Raven? Also, some HAS to figure out Jinx is in the tower, seriously!

_:P_

**Silently Watches: **Oh shit, the JL knows it's Raven. Run, girl, run!  
Silently Watches out.

_Run Forest, run! Ahah xD_

**Dak Hamee: **Lol luck is always on Jynx's side but it looks like Raven might be in trouble, and of course everybody luvs watching raven scare doctor light till he wets himself, looks like the teams in for a surprise when they get home, sweet chapter

_Yeah, Rae isn't half as lucky as Jinx is. I love watching Rae scare Dr Light too xD And just a little surprise :P_

**Juniper Night: **Aww, just when it was getting good :)  
One Jump? Really? Omg, I LOVE that song :D (and I only just discovered it too, probably when I was talking to you about Cinderella and Snow White and the others.)  
I guess I have to go now if I'm to stay one skip ahead of my doom ;)  
Juniper (tee-hee, Nom de Plume)

_Maybe Raven would let Jinx have her way, but that alarm sure isn't going to :P Yup; really really. _

**Thanks for all the reviews guys!**

* * *

The changeling got to his feet as he heard the faint noises of the T-Car pulling into the garage, and moved towards the lift, waiting for his teammates while his mind continued to puzzle over what Batman had said to him, not able to understand why it was necessary to bring Justice League members to the Tower, and wondering if he should have said something about it. He couldn't imagine Robin would have agreed with his former mentor.

The doors to the lift opened, and he was faced with the shocked faces of his friends, Cyborg making a show of rubbing his eyes and doing a double-take. "BB? Is that really you? It's not even six yet."

Beast Boy playfully pushed the man as he exited the lift. "Couldn't get back to sleep." He shrugged, before his eyes sought out his leader. "Besides, Batman called."

"Why?" Robin frowned.

"They sent us the footage for the security tapes. You know, for the amulet thingy?"

His eyes lit up slightly with fresh excitement. "Did they have anything to say about it?"

"Not really. Said they had their suspicions, but wanted to see what we thought. Oh yeah, he wants us to hold off reviewing the tapes until the Flash and the Martian dude get here. Didn't say why."

"Martian Manhunter?" Raven clarified with a small frown.

"Yeah, him. Batman just said it would be best, or somethin'."

"I'll see if I can get in touch with him, and sort this out. They're obviously keeping something from us." Robin frowned.

Raven started to move forward, being careful to keep her distance from the changeling as she passed by him. "Then I'll be in my room until I'm needed."

"So, who was it?" Beast Boy asked as Raven disappeared off down the corridor.

"Dr. Light." Cyborg grumbled. "Who else would it be?"

Robin started to move towards the common room and the others followed, Starfire separating from them moments later as she headed towards her room.

"Did Batman say when we could expect Flash and Martian Manhunter to get here?" Robin asked.

"Two. Why'd you think they're coming here?"

"They know who it is."

"It's someone in Jump?" Cyborg questioned, surprised. "But why those two members? I mean, they're top leaguers. Add Superman and Wonder Woman, and we might as well be hunting Trigon." The Titan paused as his mind caught up with his words, his eyes widening as he stared at Robin. "No way. They don't think ...?"

"They obviously think our thief's in Jump, and that they could pose a real threat, should they want to. I don't exactly see any of Jump's criminals fitting into the criteria." Robin replied quietly.

"_You _don't think she stole the amulet, do you?" Cyborg asked unhappily. "I don't care what the League thinks. She would never – "

"Are we talking about _Raven_?!" Beast Boy gasped, finally catching on. "Dude! No way! I mean Rae's like … she wouldn't do _that_."

"They wouldn't suspect her for no reason. There must be something on the tapes. It _would _explain why forensics came up clean. In fact, it would explain _a lot _of things, and not just about the robbery. Think about it; she was staying locked up in her room for almost a month, then all of a sudden she's just fine again. Jinx hardly pays any attention to her in fights, despite the fact she had … flipped out after she found out 'Rachael' was Raven."

"But neither of them has the amulet." Beast Boy frowned. "I mean, Jinx isn't kicking our butts more than usual, ignoring my arm, and I think we'd all know if Rae had it. Besides, she was very careful _not _to touch it for the short time it was here. Maybe they did make up or somethin', and it has nothing to do with the amulet disappearing again."

Cyborg laughed. "I don't really see either of those girls being the apology kinda type. Besides, what are they gonna say? 'Sorry for beating you up and all but kicking your head in.' 'That's okay. Sorry that your girlfriend doesn't actually exist.' Man, that just ain't happenin'."

"Which would explain why the amulet was stolen. You're right, Raven's bad at apologies, we all know that – her social skills just aren't up to it – and we know she was extremely upset about what had happened. What better way to apologize than giving Jinx the amulet back _after_we'd managed to get it off her?"

"I don' know." Cyborg looked at his leader. "BB has a point. If Jinx's got it, why aint she using it?"

* * *

Raven quickly entered her room, almost forgetting about her current predicament when she spotted Jinx sat on the floor, piles of books around her.

"Jinx … what are you doing?" Her face pulled down into a frown. "I didn't exactly take you for a reader."

"Fuck you."

"Excuse me?"

The thief didn't have to look up to know Raven's face was a picture of shock.

"I'm tryin' to find what stupid ward you put on that fucking chest so I can open it. I mean, what kinda ward lets you get as far as unlocking the damn thing before taking effect? You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

Raven shook her head as she moved further into the room, gathering up Jinx's clothes and throwing them at the woman. "I need to get you out of here, now."

"Not until I've found this ward."

"Fine. Stay here. But don't be surprised if you find yourself against two members of the Justice League."

Jinx's head snapped up from the book she'd been scanning, only just then giving Raven her full attention. "_What_?"

"Martian Manhunter and the Flash are arriving at the Tower at some point today to go over security footage with us. Security footage from the Museum that housed the amulet."

"Then they know it was you." Jinx muttered, before standing up. "You're leavin' with me, now. Just, grab a bag and stick whatever in it. The important stuff. You can probably teleport back in once things have died down and fetch whatever else you want later." She quickly yanked her top on before grabbing her jeans.

"No."

"This ain't a time to be stupid." Jinx replied quickly, glancing up at the empath, and almost losing her balance. "If you're gonna have the Flash after your ass, we need to get a_real_good head start. Damn, do you have any idea how _hard _it is to lose someone who can cover the whole city in a few seconds?"

"It's not him I'm worried about." Raven replied quietly.

"I don' really know much about Manhunter. Never needed to." The woman buttoned her jeans and quickly pulled on her boots before moving around Raven's room, looking for some sort of bag. "Now stop standin' around. We need to get moving."

"He's a telepath. One of the strongest in the universe. I might be able to keep him out of my mind, at a push, but if I decide to run, I can't go with you. Robin will link it together. He'll figure out why I stole the amulet, and who I stole it for. Martian Manhunter could find the information he needed from your mind in less than a second. Jinx, they've planned this. If the Flash could reach me before I could teleport, Manhunter could quite quickly force my mind into a state of induced sleep, making me easy to contain."

"You make it sound like they're scared of you." Jinx frowned, abandoning her search for a bag as she turned to face Raven.

The woman quickly looked down, avoiding looking Jinx in the eye as she continued as though the meta human hadn't spoken. "I would consider leaving this dimension for a while; however I don't like the idea of completely cutting myself off from the Titans. Robin will make finding me the team's main priority, and I'm not sure they can afford that at the moment. The man we were investigating last night, while you were texting me … I still think there is something off about him, and that he needs to be watched. I can set up a mental shield that should help hide me from Martian Manhunter, and without general team duties to worry about, I should be able to keep a very close eye on Mark."

"So you're not gonna let them drag you off to Arkham or whatever?" Jinx asked, relieved when the woman shook her head.

"… No. I know I'm just making one bad decision after another, but no."

"Okay. I can deal with that. So, how long until the alien guy stops lookin' for you?"

"I'm not sure." Raven answered quietly. "I suppose, if a few weeks pass and they realise I haven't … that I haven't changed, they might leave it. Although if I stay until they arrive, he will be able to pick that up there and then. That might cut it back by a week?"

"Changed? What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

She ignored the question. "I suppose I'll find you once I'm certain Martian Manhunter has stopped looking for me, although I'm not sure how this is going to work in the long run."

"Will you _stop _doin' that?! Ugh! I just don' _understand _you! You make it blatantly clear you're willin' to alienate yourself from your friends just so we can keep up whatever this is – " she motioned to the space in between them, " – but you can't trust me enough to give me a few simple answers? What _is _this? I mean, it's not like I haven't had plenty of opportunities to screw you over if I wanted to. Maybe you should just hand 'em the amulet back an' hope they let you off; tell your friends it was all just some stupid mistake an' – "

"It isn't an issue of trust." Raven cut the woman short. She wanted to move over to her, but stayed where she was. "I know that it isn't exactly a stable department with either of us, and for good reasons, but I'm not worried about what you might do with the information. I trust you to keep it to yourself."

"Then what is it?"

"… Can we talk about this later?"

"Later? You mean, in a few weeks time once you figure it's safe to let me know where the fuck you are? No. We're talking now." Jinx folded her arms as she leant back slightly, her weight on one leg, showing she wasn't moving anywhere.

"I'm …" The woman took a deep breath and looked down to stare holes into the carpet, before forcing out quietly. "I'm scared of how you'll react."

"Well, I'm guessing it's something bad then." The thief replied, her tone softening slightly. "Is it better or worse than the fact that you played 'Rachael' for all that time?"

Raven frowned slightly. "Probably worse."

"Then I promise I'll do my best to refrain from beating you to a pulp this time."

"I don't think it's that sort of 'worse'."

"Whatever, just spit it out already. We have two Justice League members heading this way and we need to be gone."

"You said I made it sound like the Justice League is scared of me. That's because it's quite possible that they are. I don't like to talk about my family because, well … let's just say my Father is very well known, and not for a good reason."

"You mean your Dad's some … criminal mastermind?"

"I wish."

"So he's … what?"

"You know what the Church of Blood is; do you know who they worship?"

"Some dude called Scath or something. Whoever it is, it's a demon."

"They worship Trigon – Scath is a name the order uses to protect Trigon's identity. Obviously, if everyone knew that's who they were worshiping – "

"They wouldn't last long as a group, yeah okay, I get that." Jinx interrupted. "What's this got to do with anything?"

"My Mother joined that cult after running away at the age of eighteen. She was … offered up as a bride about a year later."

"Offered? You mean like some kinda sacrifice?" Jinx asked, her eyes widening when Raven nodded. "Holy crap! Is this goin' where I think it is?!"

"Keep your voice down." Raven frowned, glancing at the door before forcing herself to look at Jinx.

"You expect me to be paying attention to how _loud _my voice is right now? Is that even possible? I mean it's like … If this is some kinda joke, this is _not _funny."

"This isn't a joke. You asked and I'm telling."

"And you didn't think to tell me this sooner?" Jinx asked, her voice several octaves higher as she started pacing.

"Of course I did, but it's not exactly something I'm comfortable sharing. Besides, a while ago, when we were talking about the Church of Blood and why we're not on good terms, you asked me if demons were real, and then you said you _didn't want _to know."

"Forget what I _said!_ Who remembers that shit anyway? If you'd bothered to inform me you're a demon or whatever, I might have told you to fucking tell me!"

"Half demon, Jinx."

The hex caster paced in silence for a moment, before she frowned. "Awh, crap. We might have more than the Justice League after your ass."

"What?" Raven asked, taken back by the sudden subject change.

"Urm, Gizmo maybe went and contacted the Church of Blood digging for info on you. As you probably noticed, they didn't share, but Blood seemed … interested in you."

"Sebastian – the Brother Blood you knew – is missing." The empath stated with a small frown. "He vanished a while ago."

"Yeah we know that! I meant the new Blood."

Raven's eyes widened. "What did Gizmo tell him? What did Brother Blood tell Gizmo?"

"Nothing; Giz wouldn't answer his questions after Blood didn't answer his. He knows you're with the Titans still and stuff though. Should we be worried?" Jinx stopped pacing and looked at her girlfriend. "Why aren't I freaking out yet? I should be freaking. And Gizmo had this fucking idea you were some kind of experiment too. As if the idiot was right. So first you're Rachael, then your Raven and now what? Do you have some weird demonic Latin name I can use to randomly summon you?"

"Latin? Demons have existed long before the Latin language appeared, although Trigon appeared somewhat later."

"Whatever; it's always Latin on TV shows." Jinx shrugged, before asking. "And the JL know you're ...?"

"They do."

"And your teammates?"

"Jinx, they've fought against my Father. Of course they know."

"Trigon?"

Raven didn't reply this time, just watched as the woman started pacing again.

"_Trigon_? Why can't you just be a … meta human like everyone else? Nooo, Miss Mysterious has to have fucking _**Trigon **_for a father. Of course she does!"

"Now you're freaking." Raven muttered, unconsciously trying to withdraw further into the folds of her cloak.

"Who else would have a mother fucking Dragon in her room?"

"I'll take you back to the H.I.V.E base."

"No. You'll drop me off at the apartment." Jinx shook her head, forcing herself to stop pacing as she looked back at the empath. "With a bag of stuff you want – you know, a few essentials – and then you're getting your demonic ass there the moment everyone tries to throw you in jail. Fuck Martian Manhunter. If he shows up I'll make sure this is the worst day he's had all year. The Flash too. No way am I letting you drop a bombshell like that then fuck off for a few weeks. And don't even think about just disappearing because I _will _find some damn summoning ritual that works, Latin or not."

"But …"

"But what? I'm freaking? Yeah, I know. I'm gonna go straight to the fridge after you've dropped me off and stuff myself with chocolate fudge ice cream while I wonder what the hell my life is coming too. I'll save some for you, ready for the whole freak out I know you're gonna have once you realise you're officially a wanted criminal. Or I think we have vanilla, if you don' like chocolate. On second thought, I think I'm gonna have to pop out and 'acquire' a few more tubs. Not sure we'll have enough, because I don't know 'bout you, but I am in serious need of food therapy right now."

When Raven didn't say anything, just continued to stare at her with a guarded look, obviously waiting for the rejection that was yet to come, Jinx let out a deep breath and added, "No, I don't totally believe you, and yes I do have some problems with this if it's true and you totally deserve any shit you get from me over the next few days or weeks – and that's not negotiable – but if you disappear for a few weeks or whatever, I'm _really _not going to be your friend when you show up again."

"Jinx, Robin knows where the apartment is."

"Giz's finished the holo-ring. You can wear it and we'll all call you Sally or something and I'll pretend I don't know where the fuck you are. If he knew I would be interested in 'Rachael', he knows I don't exactly have the cleanest record. It'll work. Either that or you can teleport out the moment they get there. Just start throwing stuff into a bag already." She moved forward and pulled open Raven's wardrobe, searching the bottom until she found an old backpack, throwing it at the empath. "Seriously, do I have to pack for you?"

* * *

Raven jumped slightly as someone knocked on her door, pulling her hood up as she checked the time on her bedside clock before she made her way over to the door, opening it to find Starfire.

"Friend! The members of the Justice League have arrived, and we are gathering in the common room to watch the video footage from the security cameras."

The empath opened her door wider before she stepped out into the hallway. "How long have they been here?"

"I am not certain. I have not long been awake, having taken your advice to have the nap, and they were here when I entered the common room."

"They said anything more on who they think it is?" Raven asked as they started walking.

"No. They are being most quiet. Quiet regarding the video footage, anyway. The Flash is most talkative."

"Why doesn't that surprise me?"

"I am glad things are finally coming to a close. Perhaps this time it might stay in the museum, and we can spend more time investigating the incident at the prison."

"Even if it doesn't, I still think we should be paying more attention to Mark." Raven muttered after a moment's silence. "I know we don't exactly have much to hold against him in the way of evidence, but I really don't like him. The fact that he has access to the entire prison isn't exactly reassuring."

"Yes, Cyborg mentioned you were highly suspicious as him. Robin trusts your judgement." She offered Raven a smile."I'm sure he'll keep the man and the incident with Plasmas top priority, even if we get a name to go with our thief."

"I … don't think he will."

"Then you picked up on it, too? It is most irregular for the League to insist on sending two of their members, no? Our thief must pose a true threat, and perhaps is located somewhere in Jump? I wish they weren't – after what happened last time, I wish we did not have to be involved once again. I'm sure the Justice League has more than the ability to sort it out by themselves. They are not known across the galaxy for nothing."

"Starfire …"

Raven trailed off as the doors to the common room opened, her eyes quickly finding Martian Manhunter and the Flash stood by Robin, her gut sinking as she started to wish she'd told her team first, before this.

Manhunter turned to look at her, and he nodded slightly. "Raven."

"Nice of you to show up." The Flash added. "Almost thought we'd missed you."

She arched her brow as she moved towards them. "Really? Then perhaps J'onn isn't as good a telepath as I've been led to believe."

"Telepaths can shield from each other. I know that much." He replied.

"She isn't shielding." Martian Manhunter informed his teammate, before motioning towards the sofa. "Shall we begin? The footage that we need to look at is no more than a few seconds, however it is very subtle, and we may need to repeat the footage more than once before you see it."

"Why not just tell us what we're looking for?" Cyborg frowned.

"You guys just need to see it for yourselves." The Flash shrugged. "Seeing is believing, and all that crap." He vanished, reappearing near the main computer almost instantly. "So, how do you work this thing?"

"I'll do it." Robin muttered, moving forward. "What time am I fast forwarding it to?"

"01:23:14. Or ten minutes into the tape." J'onn answered, before motioning once again for them to take a seat. "No need to stand on ceremony."

Starfire, Cyborg and Beast Boy all sat down – somewhat uncertainly – while Raven remained standing near the back of the sofa, her eyes on the two members of the Justice League.

"You too." The Flash spoke up as he caught sight of her. "Sit."

Raven frowned at him, but sat down, perched on the edge of her seat next to Starfire, moving to look at the large computer monitor instead. Despite her efforts to remain calm, she could feel her heart racing, and kept expecting her anxiety to have an outward effect on her powers.

She watched Robin press play, having fast forwarded the tape to the time Martian Manhunter had given him, quickly rebuilding the mental shields that would keep J'onn out of her mind, figuring he'd had enough time to poke around and figure out this had been Raven's own choice, and not influenced by anything demonic or otherwise.

She caught what had given her away almost instantly. The particular camera the footage had come from had a good view of the room, though it didn't have night vision. It shouldn't have needed it; despite the late hour, the room was still lit up by several spot lights. Only the two far corners remained in shadow. Raven's eyes remained fixed on the back left corner, waiting.

It was only the smallest of movements, but the shadows covering that corner seemed to grow darker – taller – for a few seconds, before it disappeared, the shadow returning to its former state.

"Shall I replay the tape?"

Raven jumped slightly at the sound of Martian Manhunter's voice, and searched for him, surprised to find he was now stood by the computer. She hadn't seen him move.

"Apart from the amulet vanishing, I didn' see anything." Cyborg frowned. "Where should we be looking?"

"The back of the room." Robin answered, and Raven felt as though her stomach had sunk to the floor. She wanted to look at him, but couldn't bring herself to, her eyes instead moving to Flash as he spoke.

"We didn't see it the first few times."

"Who saw it first?" Raven asked.

In court, the evidence wouldn't have been enough to convict Raven, and despite Martian Manhunter's reputation down south, the local courts wouldn't accept his ability to read minds as a source of evidence, no matter what he managed to find in her thoughts and memories. Her team mates, however, weren't members of a court jury and she knew they'd recognise that flicker of darkness for what it was and find some way of making sure she carried out whatever sentence was deemed fitting.

The Flash looked at her, clearly surprised she'd asked. "Superman, though it was Bats who figured out what we were seeing."

She watched Flash look back at the screen and made sure Martian Manhunter was still busy before she teleported. Her disappearance was noticed immediately, despite how silent it had been, the Flash cursing loudly, looking much more stressed about it than Martian Manhunter.

"I'll check the tower." Flash muttered quickly, before he disappeared.

Robin glanced at the empty space on the sofa, before looking at J'onn. "It was her, wasn't it?"

"Bull shit!" Cyborg quickly spoke, standing up as he pointed towards the screen. "There's nothing on that tape to prove it was Rae, or anyone else!"

The speedster suddenly reappeared next to his team mate, a frown creasing his face. "She isn't in the tower. Damn it J'onn, you said she wasn't shielding. You could have warned me she was going to jump."

"Raven took the amulet?" Starfire frowned, looking at Robin, "But why would she ...?"

"She _wasn't _shielding." The green alien told Flash. "And when she rebuilt the shields around her mind shortly before we played the tape, I thought nothing of it – it is common for telepaths to shield around each other. That was my misjudgement, but then she made no indication she was waiting for a specific point before leaving." He looked at the titans, "Please, if you could focus on the tape for just a moment longer, and keep your eyes on the far left corner – " He hit play, " – we were suspecting the darker shadow that appears to be Raven's soul self, something I'm sure you're all familiar with. Of course, thanks to the past few minutes, it is no longer something we merely suspect."

"Not to mention she left this in her room." The four titans moved their eyes off the screen to watch the speedster throw a titans communicator up in the air, catching it as it fell back towards his hand. He threw it at Robin. "I take it this was hers?"

Robin flipped it open, searching through the settings until he nodded. "It's hers." He looked at Martian Manhunter. "Do you know where she is now?"

"I cannot pinpoint her exactly location – as I said, she is once again shielding her mind, and she is working hard to maintain it. I can, however, tell you she is still in Jump City, and I doubt she'll be leaving any time soon."

"So you got some other way of tracking her? I mean, I _could _do a run of the city, but …"

"There's a tracker on the broach she uses to keep her cloak pinned."

The Flash seemed to flicker slightly, before he held up a red jewelled broach, seemingly having grabbed it from nowhere. "This? It was in her room too."

"Then we need to find Jinx." Robin decided.

"Jinx?" The Flash frowned. "You mean the hex caster, right? What's she got to do with it?"

"Can you find her?" Robin asked J'onn.

"Probably. However we have matters we must attend to elsewhere."

"You do?" "We do?" Both Robin and Flash's face were identical pictures of surprise and confusion.

"I'm sure you are capable of dealing with this situation. Raven is powerful, when she wants to be, but I'm sure you all know she would never move to attack you – getting her to confess and spend her sentence will be a simple matter of locating her and convincing her."

"Simple?" The Flash frowned. "This is a _teleporting demon halfling _we're talking about here. I think they could do with the extra help."

"We were sent in case Raven's conscious mind had begun to move towards a more similar mindset to her father's. She seemed to have realised this would have been the first conclusion people would come to, otherwise I am certain she would have entered this room with her mind blocked off from me at the start." He looked at Robin. "If there is any deterioration to her state, by all means, contact Batman and members of the Justice League will be sent to assist you in safely detaining her, however this isn't an emergency and the local team – being you – has the means to deal with it. We'll let ourselves out." He glanced at the three Titans still sat on the sofa, all looking more shocked than worried, before moving towards the doors leading out of the common room.

"Good luck." Flash smiled grimly at Robin and passed him the broach he'd been holding, before following Martian Manhunter out of the room.

"… Does this mean Rae's left the team?" Beast Boy asked after almost a minute of silence had passed without any movement.

"Left the team? She would have been removed from the team even if she hadn't disappeared. When the public finds about what she's been charged with, they'd have petitioned for her removal even if we hadn't. She knew that."

"So, now what?" Cyborg asked as he sat back down.

"We inform the local police and hope Manhunter was right about her not wanting to attack anyone. Then we go looking for Jinx. She's our best bet in finding Raven. I think I still have that apartment address around here somewhere. The sooner we find her, the better."

"… We should not dismiss the case we were already looking into." Starfire spoke up quietly, before she looked up at her team mates and continued in a stronger voice, "Who is the larger threat? Raven? Or a man that has access to the jail and is already suspected of releasing one prisoner? I know we are all hurt that Raven would choose Jinx's companionship over our friendship, but it is the city we should be thinking for, not ourselves."

"You know, I'm glad you turned down ruling your planet and all that to stay here, but I think you would have done all right." Cyborg smiled slightly. "She's right. I'm not sayin' we should let Rae off just because she's our friend or anything, but we do have this Mark guy to worry about." He looked at Robin. "You know she's right."

"… Fine. We'll still inform the police though. I suppose we can wait to question Jinx at the next robbery. At least then we don't need to go looking for her."


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Hey guys, this is a short chapter (sorry!) and probably should have gone on the end of the previous one. Between volunteering at the local dolphin research centre and working at the weekends, it feels like doing a full time job (_without the weekend break_) so I'm sorry about any slow updates.

**Reviews:**

**Concolor44: **_Glad you liked it :)_

_No, Jinx didn't freak out too bad (thank god) but still... only time will tell how happy she is with this new news._

_I do like J'onn in the comics, so I'm glad you liked how I wrote him (very glad!) As for Flash... I haven't actually read that many comics with any of the major Flashes in them so... I hope he was okay. Yes, lets not forget Mark. I think what he's all about will be coming into light soon..._

_Thankyou :) The move went well, and I must say I am LOVING Australia. Only seen one snake so far - a Dugout or something... And we don't get the common brown where I'm living! Yay! That's one less thing to look out for!_

**Guest: **_Hmm... perhaps. Just try to think how you might have reacted in that situation. Me? I'd be too shocked that Raven had done that to have an outburst or something. Yes, Star is - she's always someone you can count on. Ah, comic cannon. Manhunter is an extremely well recognised and popular superhero in South America in the comics, compared to people like Superman and Batman. _

**Korraganitar the NightShadow: **_Ahah she might. You never know :p If you do, let me know - I'd like to read that! Glad you liked it, and sorry for the delay in updates._

**Spikesagitta: **_I don't think it's the fact Raven stole that's bothered them so much as the question of 'what if'. What if it had something to do with her demonic side raising it's head? They all know she's a demon halfling. They don't know how to explain this apparently random act of thievery (no one said they knew Raven had been dating Jinx undercover)_

**I'm a Lover not a Hater: **_Ahah of course :) I haven't forgotten about her._

**Juniper Night: **_Glad you liked it haha._

**discb**: _A nice flight? Uncomfortable might describe it better :P_

**nada129: **_I'm glad it made you laugh. Sorry about the delayed update. _

**Silently Watches: **_She does have a valid reason. Yeah, if the titans were constantly bugging them, things might go from rocky to worse between Jinx and Raven. Nothing like stress to elevate a reaction. Could she take out J'onn? Hmm... that's one to think about. _

**Dawsen: **_Glad you liked._

**Stormplains: **_About just as wrong as is could, I think. Yes, well done Star! Thanks to that little nudge from Raven before her disappearance of course._

**XxRin-sanxX: **_It freaked me out writing it! Sorry I couldn't get the next chapter out quickly - been as busy as hell over the past few weeks._

**Dak Hamee: **_RUN FOREST RUN! _Glad you liked it :)

**Taeniaea: **_Glad you liked._

**Zaan299: **_J'onn is very cool and collected - at least that's how I've seen him to be from the comics. And also quite caring. After he lost his wife and kid to that virus his brother started, I'd think he'd view Raven's actions more empathically. Flash definitely has a good heart - I think he'd understand too...but yes, a demon going on rampage is one thing, a rogue hero another - they have better things to do that chase Raven about._  
_She is dedicated. She wouldn't be Raven if she wasn't! I wonder too. Maybe we'll find out?_

**Wallflower013: **_It does suck. Ah, you know Robin's issues with criminals... and Raven's now a criminal. I think deep down he's upset in a more... compassionate way, but he's just afraid to show it._

**Keep Moving Onwards: **_Glad you're enjoying it :P_

**Sonicthehedgewolf: **_Update AND finish? I'm planning to make this thing at least... say 25 chapters? Might take me a while._

* * *

Jinx looked up as Raven appeared in the room, her blue cloak gone and an almost confused expression creasing her face.

"Rae? You okay? I mean, did you get away okay?" She watched the woman turn to look at her, but didn't receive an answer. The thief glanced down at the tub of ice cream she'd been sat with, before holding it out towards the empath. "Chocolate ice cream solves everything. You'd think I'd way a ton from how much I eat."

She continued to stare at Jinx a moment, before the confusion faded from her face, replaced by her usual stern and stoic mask. "We need to go somewhere else. Now. Robin knows where the apartment is. No doubt they're already on their way here."

"Way ahead of you. I popped out and fetched your modified holo ring and new ID, courtesy of Giz. Also booked for a night at a nearby hotel. So long as you're not gonna have some breakdown, we should be able to get ready and be there within the hour, we just need to get you changed into some normal clothes, give you a haircut and get gone. I've brought ice cream and stuff to take with us."

"Hair cut?" Raven frowned.

"Sorry Rae, but your team mates are gonna be looking for you and sooner or later they're gonna figure out you still have your holo ring. Purple or not, your hair cut it kinda one of a kind, and it's so short at the back... there's not really much else to do but cut it. I'm just trying to increase your chances of goin' unrecognised."

"Can't we just ... leave it for now?" Raven asked quietly. She figured she'd have to deal with enough change over the next few hours and days without having to lose the familiarity of her hair as well. She wouldn't have thought anything of it, if she hadn't suddenly remembered the time she and Starfire had swapped bodies thanks to the 'help' of one of Jump's criminals. While she'd complained about the princess's long hair, she didn't think she'd like it being much shorter than its current state either.

"Fine, but you'll have to do something with it sooner or later, and that doesn't include hairdressers. The ends of your hair would turn purple the moment it was cut."

Raven nodded. "I'd figured out that."

"Your bag's in the bedroom. I put your new drivers licence and stuff in the front compartment, and the holo ring on the bedside table." Jinx informed, before asking. "... What are the chances of Flash and the Martian showing up?"

The empath shrugged. "I'd like to say there's no chance, but I don't know. Though I'd think Flash would have already arrived by now, had they been after me."

"Let's take that as a good sign then. What did you say to get them to leave you alone? The way you talked about them this morning, you made it sound like they'd go through hell to make sure you were ... detained."

"I said nothing. I let J'onn read my intensions by giving him a few minutes access to my mind. He's a reasonable man, who isn't prone to rash decisions or wasting his time unnecessarily. I had hoped that would work in my favour, and apparently it did. He's a highly respected member of the Justice League, and if he says they need not bother with me, they will listen to him. More importantly, I hope it showed the Titans I'm not a threat to them. Or anyone else."

Jinx nodded before motioning towards the bedroom. "Get changed. If you're right and Robin decides to drop by, we need to be gone."

* * *

"Blonde?" Raven asked as she looked at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. "You made me blonde?"

"We were trying to think of something we - or the Titans - wouldn't expect you to choose." Jinx shrugged, watching her from the door, before she added. "I think you make a good blonde. You can definitely be oblivious enough."

Raven frowned at Jinx's reflection in the mirror before going back to studying her own. In truth, her hair didn't look_that_blonde. Nothing like Terra's had. Instead it was more of a mousy colour, somewhere between the colour of old straw and a washed out brown. All the better for blending in. It complimented the murky hazel of her eyes, her pale skin covered in a dusting of freckles. Gizmo had really outdone himself as far as detail was concerned. Raven couldn't understand why Jinx thought a hair cut would be necessary. She barely recognised herself.

"You checked your ID yet?"

The empath shook her head. "No."

"We just picked a random name, so for gods' sake try and remember it. We'll be using it at the hotel."

Raven pulled the holo ring off and slipped it into the pocket of her jeans as she moved to leave the bathroom. "Won't the people at the hotel recognise you?"

"Nope. Gizmo's been very busy over the past few weeks, and I owe him_big_time, which I don't like at all. He copied the design of your ring and made me one, which I'll be wearing until we're in the safety of the hotel room." She followed Raven over to where she'd left the back pack and watched her search through the front compartment, before asking, "So, if you're a demon, what's with the semi-ordinary name?"

She shrugged before answering. "It's ... a mockery of sorts. All higher demons have their familiars, and my father's favourites are his spies, that take the form of ravens."

"Ouch. Who named you that? Daddy?"

Raven shook her head. "I think it was just a nickname from the Monks that stuck. I don't remember my mother making a point about naming me."

"No one does, stupid."

"I'm half demon, Jinx. I was born sentient." She turned round and showed a small plastic card to Jinx. "Is this a credit card?"

"You were what?"

"My mind had fully developed upon birth, and I was conscious of everything going on around me. Exactly how did you get this card?"

"Don't worry. I didn't steal it. It's forged." Jinx answered.

"Then where's the money coming from?"

"... I don't think you'll like that answer. But don't complain – I'm still not happy with you."

Raven sighed and turned back to the bag.

"So if you were born with like, self-awareness and all that crap, does that mean you could walk and talk and stuff from the word go?"

"Not exactly. Does a new born baby look like something that could walk? For starters its form doesn't have the right balance in weight. Their heads are far too heavy compared to their muscle strength and body size. My body developed perhaps ... six weeks ahead of an ordinary child. Eight weeks at most, which delayed me as far as walking was concerned. Of course, I still had more movement than your average new born. I could drag myself if there was something for me to grip, for example." Finding the driver's license, she read the name printed on it and frowned again. "Bethany?"

"Non-descript and definitely not linked to Raven or Roth. Isn't that like, weird, being able to remember shit from that long ago?"

Raven shrugged. "Not really. I've never known any different. So, what am I calling you? Jenny again?"

"No chance. No doubt you told the Titans that one. I'm using one of my other identities."

"Other identities? How many do you have?"

"Enough." She smiled. "This one's called Jean."

"Do they all begin with 'J'?"

"Nope. I have an Amy and a Sophie too. You ready to go?"

She glanced at Jinx, before looking back at the small bag of everything she'd brought with her - her meditation mirror, her Book of Azar, and a change of clothes. She tucked her new driver's licence back into the front compartment and did the zip up. "I suppose so."

"Then I'll call a taxi."

Jinx moved off to the main room of the apartment and Raven sat down on the edge of the bed, trying to not think too hard. She knew she owed Jinx more than a few answers, so she wasn't complaining, but thinking about that was the last thing she wanted to do. All it made her do was worry about how her friends now considered her, and she didn't want to think about that either. The empath could hear Jinx on the phone, giving the person on the other end an address she didn't recognise, before thanking them and hanging up. She looked up as Jinx popped her head back around the bedroom door.

"We've got to walk a block to get the taxi."

Raven frowned at her. "Why?"

"Because if we used this address, and the Titans figured out a taxi had pulled up recently, all they need to do is call around until they find whoever it was and BAM, they have a nice shiny trail that'll lead 'em straight to us. And who we're pretending to be. Talk about wasting weeks' worth of work!"

She watched as Raven took that in, almost scolding herself as she muttered, "Of course."

"Just leave the details to me, and we'll be 'kay. Thank god I've got more curiosity than sense and didn't leave your ass this morning. I thought Demons are meant to be scheming, plotting, masters of evil and deception."

"Not the powerful ones. They tend to just kill anyone who interferes, or 'gets in the way'."

"You a powerful one?"

"Perhaps."

Jinx decided not to comment and picked up her already packed satchel, before putting her holo ring on, turning her hair a light ginger and her skin ever so slightly darker so it didn't look quite so unnatural, her pupils filling out and the bright pink of her irises turning to a washed out blue colour. She waited for Raven to put her ring on, before leading the way out, only pausing to grab a bag from the kitchen counter.

"You still planning to keep tabs on this guy from the prison?"

"Of course. Hopefully I pulled him into Starfire's attention before dealing with the Justice League, but I'm not sure they'll pay any attention to him over these next few weeks, and I'm afraid it could prove to be a dangerous mistake."

Jinx led her to the building's stair case, having a thing about lifts. "Dangerous how? So maybe he frees a few more goons from the prison. Isn't nothing the Titans can't deal with."

"I don't know. He just ... It's like when you forget a word, or a name of something. I _know _I should know why I don't like him, but it's just not coming to me."

"You know, I've always found the internet helpful at times like that. I might help you look while we're at the hotel, if I feel like it. Oh, and just so you know, you're sleeping on the sofa."

"You could have booked a room with two beds."

"I know."

* * *

"Well would you look at that! You made tonight's headlines. That didn't take 'em long."

Raven glanced over at the TV, before frowning and muting it, starting to get up to move into another room when she realised there wasn't one. Jinx hadn't been lying about the room not being cheap - at least it didn't_look_cheap - but it still only left them with two rooms. The bathroom, and the 'main room' which held both the bedroom furniture and a small lounge area.

"I'm trying to listen to that." Jinx picked up the remote and put the sound back on. "You're gonna want to listen to it too. Least then you'll know what they're looking for. The media is a thief's best friend."

The empath, now on her feet, turned and walked into the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind her.

"If it's any consolation, they've just labelled you as missing." She called out, eyes still on the TV. "Probably didn't want a mass panic or somethin'. Can't say it's something I'd want to publicize in their position. No doubt the cops know the truth though." Jinx flinched slightly as the TV screen cracked and turned black, the sound of the news reporter's voice still coming through the speakers. "There goes the deposit."

She switched the TV off and turned in her seat to look at the bathroom door, sighing to herself before standing up and walking over, leaning against the edge of the door frame.

"I've turned the TV off ... since you broke it anyway." Jinx spoke, before pausing, listening for any movement behind the door. "If you've teleported somewhere and I'm just talking to the door like an idiot I'm not gonna be happy."

Jinx stepped back as the door swung open, Raven pushing past the thief and grabbing her holo ring off the small coffee table in the room, putting it on.

"I'm going out."

"Wait, don't you think you should let things calm down first? Everyone's gonna be on red alert looking for you." Jinx hurried after the empath.

"I'm not going to sit around here all night doing nothing when I could be doing something productive."

"Productive? I'd say keeping a low profile is pretty damn productive right now."

Raven paused with her hand on the door handle. "No one's going to see me. That's the point."

Jinx's face hardened and she grabbed the woman's arm, pulling her away from the door, before pointing towards the sofa. "You're gonna sit down and _stay _there. I have not gone through all the trouble with Giz to get all this shit sorted for you to blow it all with whatever the fuck you're planning to do. If you're bored, fine, I'll ask more questions. Or I can shut up and we can ignore each other as best as this room allows, but you are not going outside for any extended length of time. Not today, perhaps not even tomorrow. I'm trying to do you a favour here."

Raven watched Jinx for a moment, mildly surprised by the meta-human's outburst, before walking over to the sofa and sitting down. "Then ask your questions, because I will not sit here and do nothing."


	9. Chapter 9

**Reviews:**

**Spikesagitta**: Apparently. Of course, how angry she actually is, and how much she just wants to mess with Raven's head is a completely different thing.

**nada129**: Ahah she can be, can't she? Ahh there might be a fight. Seems inevitable, doesn't it?

: Ahah yeah, didn't take me long. I'll try and keep that in mind - I still don't like leaving it too long though.

**I'm a Lover not a Hater**: Nice or not nice, I'm sure her leader mode is doing heaps to help Rae's ass.

**Concolor44:** I thought it was a good disguise too. As for Jinx's you're right, it isn't much of one, but as far as the titans know, she doesn't have a holoring or anything of the sort. If the titans don't know Rae's got hers, they'll figure it out soon enough.

**Silently Watches:** Rae's good at replying to questions without really answering them :P I think there's going to be a confrontation at some point. And you're right, it won't be pretty.

**Dak Hamee:** Ahah it's hilarious to imagine, right?

**Juniper Night:** Sorry :P And heh oops?

**Stormplains:** Jinx's good like that xD Ahah I sort of do sometimes when I'm writing too. Ah well.

**Eagle wolf05**: That's fine :) As of late I've been too busy to find time to write anyway! As for Friday 13th, not REAL big changes, mainly just improving my use of english and structure haha, and chapter length, though I think I may try and get deeper into the plot and expand it a bit more.

**xArtehx:** Ahah glad you enjoyed! (and sorry to hear you're ill)

**anonimo**: (hopefully I translated this correctly) but hopefully this fanfic will be at least 30 chapters? Not sure yet. (not sure when I'll finish it either!) Well, here's the next chapter :P and I'm glad you're enjoying it!

**GLaDOS2.0:** It is just life getting in the way. I'm stupidly busy at the moment but I am writing when I find the time.

**Guest:** Glad you do!

* * *

Jinx slowly moved to sit on the sofa next to the empath. "So we've covered the name, the whole sentient birth thing and who your Dad is. Why the hell aren't you on our side? Okay fuck the side I'm on, why the fuck haven't you already gone for world domination? You're half demon and you're one of the good guys? I mean how screwy is that?"

"Have you forgotten I'm now a wanted criminal?" Raven asked, frowning.

"Oh come on – so you stole one thing, big deal. Sure, you broke the law, but that doesn't make you one of the bad guys, and you know it. You didn't steal the amulet or break us out of jail because you enjoyed it, and that's the difference. Why don't you? I mean, if your Dad really is Trigon of all things, you should be able to take cities easy, and kick some serious ass. Why don't you?"

"Trigon didn't raise me. The Monks of Azarath did and under their guidance I learnt how to more or less control my … demonic urges."

"Right. You've mentioned these dudes before. Why didn't your Mom? You said she quit the cult after she conceived you."

"And was found by Azar, hence how we ended up in Azarath. Arella didn't have the means to raise me. She knew nothing of demons, and little of the being she had been offered to. I'm sure you know from personal experience that a young child – a young meta human – can't control their ability when it first appears, no matter what the parents or guardians do to help. If all you're doing is breaking a few microwaves or busting the plumbing, who cares? In time the individual gains control naturally, with the odd exception. As a young child I couldn't throw a tantrum without pulling down several rooms in the immediate area. How was Arella supposed to deal with that? The Monks found a way to give me more time to develop that control, before I could do any serious damage."

"More time?" Jinx frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You have to understand, most … demons become stronger with age. That's why most of the higher demonic powers are thousands of years old, at least – my father being an exception. In the long term, no one was concerned about what that would mean for me in the long run as my life was supposed to end shortly after my sixteenth birthday. They focused instead on the immediate effects, on how it might affect my ability to gain control of my powers. What the Monks did delayed the growth of my powers for several years – long enough for them to teach me control before I became too destructive."

"… How did they know you were meant to die at sixteen?"

"I was born for a purpose. Trigon didn't take brides for fun. At least, that wasn't his only reason. From what I can gather he'd been trying for a half human child for a while before he had Arella and got me. That's why he'd set up a link with the Church of Blood. He doesn't care much for worshipers, but they proved to be useful. Anyway, years before my birth, a prophecy had been spoken. A prophecy that foretold my birth and the end of the world. Of course it wasn't until the Monks found Arella pregnant with me that they realised it was Trigon the prophecy spoke of. Much work was put into reading my future. They knew how the end would happen and who the threat was, but they didn't have a date. Then Trigon contacted me, and told me what I had been created for, when it would commence ... everything. Shortly after my sixteenth birthday, I would open the portal, releasing him from the inter-dimensional prison the Order of Azarath placed him in a couple of centuries prior. They never did admit that the line of contact I had with my father was somewhat useful, and quickly worked to shut it off."

"Damn it girl; every fucking answer gives me ten new questions!" The thief shook her head, frustrated. "Why half human? I mean he might have had more luck fucking some alien for all he knows. And how did he even managed to fuck anyone when he was supposedly in some kind of prison?"

"Trigon is a human creation; it made sense for him to try and breed with humans. Although as similar as he may be physically, it's like trying to breed a horse and donkey. There are enough differences that producing fertile offspring is impossible."

"Holy shit, Raven, I – "

"As far as I and many other people are concerned, it's an extremely _good_thing." The empath quickly interrupted, not liking the tone of Jinx's voice. "Mixing demon genetics into the human population could have drastic consequences both in the short and long term. In the long run we're looking at increases in violent behaviour, stronger and more advance individuals … and in the short term, I couldn't have a child, knowing what they were inheriting. Demon genetics are strong enough that it would at least be several generations before any offspring could be classed in the same categories as your average meta human on the power scale. I don't blame my mother for her lack of involvement in my younger years, because I don't think I could do it either." She paused, before changing the subject. "As for the second question, the Church of Blood found a way to contact Trigon, and through rituals that used disturbing numbers of human sacrifices they allowed Trigon to leave his prison for a short period of time. It was during that time that he … raped my mother."

Jinx stayed quiet for a minute, and Raven could see from the woman's expression that she was running over everything she'd been told.

"You said they slowed down the growth of your powers and why. You didn't say how."

"My powers, as you know, are linked to my emotions. The more emotional I get, the more uncontrollable and destructive my powers get."

"Apart from during sex, thank god. The noises you make are destructive enough. At least to any self-control I might have had left." Jinx cut in, shrugging when the empath scowled at her. "Well _I_haven't noticed your powers going wacko at any point during sex."

"That's because they don't. I'm not sure why my powers lash out when they do, but I think it might be some sort of defence mechanism, or a territorial thing – something to protect me. Going back to your question, they dampened my powers by shattering my soul into pieces. Each piece represented something, most of them an emotion."

"They what?"

"I'm not sure I know how to explain it. I could – and would – show you, had my mind been in a better condition. I'm not sure now is the best time."

"Show me how?"

"Using my meditation mirror. It gives me a way of directly accessing and dealing with my emotions. Hence why I didn't want you to mess with it."

"Sounds pretty useful." Jinx commented.

"Hmph. Sometimes it just makes things even more confusing."

"You said Trigon was created by us guys. How the fuck …?"

"The original Order of Azar, the first inhabitants of Azarath, wanted to remove all evil from those living there. They had separated from earth because they believed it was the only way to live in complete peace, without violence and greed and pride, where people only died from natural causes. In order to ensure Azarath could remain such a place they took all the sins of the people and placed them into a single woman. They had hoped to kill the demon as soon as he had been born, but Trigon had been stronger than they could have imagined."

"A group of pacifists tried to reach perfection by killin' something else? Sounds like every other extremist crackpot group to me."

"They made some mistakes." Raven defended them. "Just like everyone else."

"That what they told your Mom too?"

Raven was on her feet before Jinx had even blinked, something else in the room shattering. "You think they _planned _for this to happen?"

Jinx didn't stand up to match her. Instead she tried to ignore her instinct to run and slouched back in her seat. "I think they were idiots, creating Trigon even knowing _what _it was they were creating. Now sit down and stop being such a drama queen."

Jinx watched as the empath's expression dropped until she looked somewhere between upset and scared and prepared herself for the waterworks she thought were overdue, but within seconds Raven's face was back to its stoic mask, the woman calmly sitting down before asking, "Your next question?"

"Raven, I love you, but this really isn't going to work unless you start talking to me. You know what? I can deal with _everything _else, but I can't deal with you doing … this." She motioned generally towards the woman. "Stop trying to hide what you're feeling from me. I talk to you when something's bothering me. Why can't you do the same?"

Raven stared at her, not knowing how to respond.

"I know you're upset, and I'm not making it any easier for you but why are you trying to act like none of this is a big deal?"

"… I'm still stuck on the first part." Raven spoke quietly.

"Yes, I said it, okay? Now answer the damn question."

"My emotions are _dangerous_Jinx. I can't freely express what I'm feeling."

"Well why not? We've already lost the deposit for this room. Might as well go ahead and trash the entire place."

"No. If you got hurt because something –"

"I can look after myself." Jinx interrupted. "I've taken more than a life time's worth of beating from you. I can take a few more."

Raven fidgeted uncomfortably, her eyes dropping to the floor. "I've spent so much time on retaining and perfecting control that … letting go is …_hard_**.**"

"Then we'll just have to work on it." Jinx pulled out her H.I.V.E communicator and checked the time on the face of the device. "I'll go back to the apartment first thing tomorrow, just to see if they bothered looking there, then we'll look into finding somewhere else. It's probably stupid to try and threaten you, but if I found out you left this hotel tonight, I'm not gonna be happy, and you are gonna know about it." She stood up and walked in the bedroom, re-appearing a few seconds later with a pillow and blanket. "Good job hotels always put too many layers of bedding on their beds, huh?"

* * *

**(The next day)**

"Looks like I wasn't the only one who had a rough night." Cyborg commented upon seeing his teammates spread out across the common room. "Did _any_of you get any sleep?"

"A few hours." Starfire spoke up as she stood up from her seat on the large sofa, offering her teammate a weary smile. "Beast Boy and I have spent the early hours of the morning researching more on this Prison Technician Mark, and have come up with a list of people connected to the man that may be worth interviewing to give us a better idea on what type of person this man is." She looked over to her leader who was sat at the main console before continuing. "And I request that we inform the police Mark O'Connal is a definite suspect, and ask that he be held for the forty-two hour probation time."

"They have nothing to hold him on, other than the fact that he was there at the time." Robin replied without looking round. "But feel free to contact the people on this list of yours. Just remember I need you ready to respond, should there be – "

"Dude, Jinx isn't stupid." The changeling interrupted. "If Raven's gone to her for help, Jinx isn't going to pull a robbery or draw attention to herself any time soon. At least not for a few days. So in the meantime how about we focus on finding out who tampered with Plasmus's holding container and _why _they did it. I personally liked Rae's theory of it being some way for someone to observe us and see how we work as a team or something, and I don't know about you dudes, but if she's right about this, I wanna catch whoever it is as quick as possible."

"Then Cyborg and I can begin on this list of people who might be able to help us while Beast Boy and Robin can inform the police that Mark is currently our only suspect." Seeing Robin was about to argue, Starfire held up her hand to silence him. "Unless you decide to question him personally, it will take no more than an hour or two of your time. It will not take up your day on the small chance Jinx does decide to attract our attention."

* * *

Cyborg took in the house they were about to visit, looking more than slightly sceptical as he looked over the various potted plants arranged on the inside of the white picket fence that marked out the front garden.

"If he doesn't have a Mrs. I think we've got the wrong house."

Starfire frowned at him. "Why do you say that?"

"No way does a prison guard live here on his own." He checked the list of names and addresses he was holding, double checking they had the right house.

"On Tamaran such a man would be highly viewed – we lost a lot of our native vegetation during the war against the Gordanians."

"I'm not saying they shouldn't be. I'm just saying tough prison guard and botanist doesn't exactly mix …"

Starfire moved through the gate, and Cyborg was quick to follow, checking the name on his list before knocking on the door. He looked behind him at the small flowerbeds along the drive, caught off guard when the door swung open.

"Can I help you?"

Cyborg looked round in time to see the man do a double take, straightening up slightly as a frown adorned his face.

"Adam Richie?"

"Yeah, that's me. Let me guess; you're here about the jail break with that … _thing_, Plasmus?"

"Yeah." He offered the man his hand. "I'm Cyborg and this is my teammate –"

"Starfire. Yeah, I know." Adam interrupted, shaking Cyborg's hand before reaching out to shake Starfire's hand.

"Our apologies for taking up your time, but we'd like to ask you a few questions regarding the incident, if you don't mind." Starfire offered the man a smile.

He glanced back into his house for a moment, before stepping aside and grudgingly let them past. "I dunno what help I'll be. I don't have much to do with Plasmus's containment."

"You never know. Even the tiniest detail, or smallest bit of information could be all we need." Cyborg commented as he walked past, Starfire following.

"Would you like a coffee? Tea?" Adam asked as he closed the door.

Both titans shook their heads, Starfire replying with, "Thank you, but no. We only have one or two questions to ask you."

He nodded at Starfire, before leading them through the house and into a modern looking living room all done in white and grey, motioning for them to take a seat on one of the two white sofas. The alien took a seat, but Cyborg remained standing.

"Wouldn't want to scratch the leather." He offered the man a smile. "How well do you know Mark?"

"You're gonna have to be more specific. He got a last name?"

"O'Connal. He's one of the – "

"Technicians." Adam finished. "The new guy. Only been here for a month or two. You think he has something to do with it?"

Cyborg shrugged. "He's one suspect."

"So, what do you wanna know?"

"How well do you know him?"

"Not that well." The man shook his head. "He keeps to himself a lot. Rarely joins us after work for a few drinks, and never really talks about his personal life, where he's from or about his family. He's sort of quiet, but he knows how to do his job."

"Can you think of any reason he, or someone else working at the prison, might have to explain why Plasmus's container was tampered with?"

"You mean besides the usual bribes we hear every day? Some people will do anything for money. Maybe that's the type of guy you're looking for."

"Bribes?" Starfire asked. "Do you have any names of the people trying to bribe workers at the prison?"

"Most of 'em are behind bars and we're not stupid – they'd never pay up. If it was one of them, they must have been hoping the thing would do more internal damage. Maybe knock down one of their cell walls. Should have used Cinderblock if that was what they were trying to achieve." Seeing the two titans weren't happy with his answer, he offered them an apologetic look. "Sorry. I wish I could be of more help, but that's all I really got."

* * *

**A/N: I spent so long trying to figure out how best to deal with Jinx and Rae's relationship and getting them back into some system of trust and I had no idea how to do it, until my other half came up to me the other day and just exploded because I have a habit of always bugging him whenever something's upsetting him and try to help him with his problems but never admit when something's bothering me. He pretty much told me what Jinx told Raven, so thanks to him I got past a really bad case of writer's block. Hopefully as I learn to open up more, Raven will too and this story will be able to advance at full speed once again (so long as the action side of the plot doesn't decide to slow me down). Anyway, hope you enjoyed the update, and I'm sorry for the delay.**


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